Amari Cooper - Pro Football Rumors

Trade Rumors: Raiders, Cooper, Cowboys, Broncos

October 21st, 2018 at 11:07am CST by Rory Parks

The trade deadline is just nine days away, and earlier this morning, we learned that the Saints and Eagles could be two of the most aggressive teams as they seek to bolster their rosters for a potential championship run. Here are a few more notes from the trade market:

Per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (video link), many Raiders players believe that head coach Jon Gruden is simply not happy with his collection of talent, and that there will be major roster turnover within the next several years. In fact, those players feel it will take up to two years for Gruden to assemble the type of roster he wants, and while rival GMs are not sure they can swing a deal with Oakland GM Reggie McKenzie alone, they believe they can make headway with Gruden. The Raiders are clearly in a state of upheaval right now, and the sense is that everyone on the team is available for the right price.
Raiders receiver Amari Cooper is clearly available via trade, and Rapoport says that the team has had the most significant discussions about Cooper with NFC East clubs, including the Cowboys. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com confirms that Dallas is doing its due diligence on Cooper, and Albert Breer of TheMMQB thinks there would be teams willing to part with a second-round choice for him, though it does not seem likely that Oakland will get the first-rounder it is reportedly seeking. Breer reports that the team wants a third-round pick in exchange for safety Karl Joseph.
In addition to Cooper, the Cowboys are monitoring Dolphins WR DeVante Parker and Bills WR Kelvin Benjamin, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The Eagles have also spoken to Miami about Parker, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (via Twitter).
Teams are very much interested in Broncos receivers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders and corners Bradley Roby and Chris Harris, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. Schefter writes that Denver is willing to part with Thomas, but not Sanders.
The Jaguars are not mulling a trade for a quarterback to challenge incumbent Blake Bortles, per Schefter. Despite another mediocre season from Bortles, the Jags “believe that the quarterback position is the least of their issues.”

Raiders Seeking First Rounder For Cooper?

October 16th, 2018 at 11:25am CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders have wide receiver Amari Cooper on the trade block and they are seeking more for him than you might expect. The Raiders are seeking a first-round selection in exchange for the former No. 4 overall pick, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link) hears.

Cooper’s talent is undeniable, but his performance has been inconsistent for the past two seasons and some have questioned his work ethic. Cooper earned back-to-back Pro Bowl nods in his first two NFL seasons, but it’s hard to see another club sacrificing a first-round pick for him at this point. If the Raiders want to move Cooper between now and the Oct. 30 deadline, the Raiders will have to slash their asking price.

Through six games this season, Cooper has 22 grabs for 280 yards and one touchdown. That comes after Cooper had just 48 catches for 680 yards last year, though he also had a career-high seven TDs.

Cooper isn’t the only Raider on the block. The Raiders are also willing to trade 2016 first-round pick Karl Joseph and veteran Derrick Johnson and they could even explore trading quarterback Derek Carr. Trading Carr and/or Cooper would be incredibly aggressive, but nothing can be ruled out in Oakland after the club shipped Khalil Mack to the Bears just prior to the season opener.

AFC West Notes: Raiders, Cooper, Conley, Broncos, Keenum, Chiefs, Berry

October 14th, 2018 at 8:46pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

There’s been several high profile names rumored to be trade candidates over the past week, including Raiders receiver Amari Cooper. It was reported earlier today that the Raiders were shopping the former first round pick, but now coach Jon Gruden is pushing back on those reports.

“I’m not. I’m not. I’m just sorry to have to deal with a lot of these reports” Gruden insisted when asked about the reports saying he wanted to get rid of Cooper, according to Scott Bair of NBC Sports (Twitter link). Cooper was injured in the Raiders’ loss to the Seahawks after taking a nasty hit and was diagnosed with a concussion. He’s in the last year of his rookie deal but has a fifth-year option for next year, meaning any team that traded for him would have control of him in 2019. Gruden also previously insisted he wasn’t trying to trade Khalil Mack, so perhaps his denials should be taken with a grain of salt.

Here’s more from the AFC West:

Case Keenum had another rough game, prompting reporters to ask coach Vance Joseph after the game if Keenum would remain the starter for the Broncos. Joseph answered affirmatively, saying “Case is our quarterback”, according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic (Twitter link). Keenum left for one play to be evaluated for a concussion, and the home crowd gave backup Chad Kelly a standing ovation. With the Broncos a sinking ship and Joseph on the hot seat, it wouldn’t be surprising if Kelly gets a look at some point.
Speaking of Oakland, the Raiders have benched their 2017 first round pick, cornerback Gareon Conley, playing him on zero defensive snaps in their Week 6 loss. Conley could be a possible trade target, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, who tweets that “teams looking to buy low on Conley will be calling.” Gruden has shown a willingness to get rid of high-profile players, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the team gives up on Conley despite his limited time on the field. He missed most of his rookie season due to injury.
Chiefs All-Pro safety Eric Berry has mysteriously missed every game this season without much of an update from the team, and he is still without a timetable for a return, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. Sources told La Canfora that the team is “extremely confident that he will play this season”, but no one seems to know when and the team will continue to “exude extreme caution” handling him. The Chiefs defense has been a liability this season, and would get a massive boost from Berry’s return.

Raiders Shopping Amari Cooper, Karl Joseph

October 14th, 2018 at 11:34am CST by Rory Parks

11:34am: The Raiders are also looking to deal wideout Amari Cooper, per Jay Glazer of Fox Sports (video link). Vic Tafur of The Athletic explains that it makes sense for the Raiders to be shopping Cooper now (via Twitter), because he will be on the last year of his rookie deal in 2019, and it looks as though Oakland is priming for a multi-year rebuild. And if Gruden traded Mack when he thought the team couldn’t contend, it stands to reason that he would be willing to trade Cooper as well.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk points out that Mack, Joseph, and Cooper are all represented by the same agent, Joel Segal, and it could be that the team’s willingness to trade those players is motivated at least in part by its unwillingness to negotiate with the man who won a stare down with Gruden during the Mack negotiations.

08:52am: When the Raiders hired Jon Gruden in January, it became immediately clear that seventh-year GM Reggie McKenzie and the club would be parting ways in the near future. After all, the Raiders made an enormous commitment to Gruden while giving him a significant amount of McKenzie’s power over roster construction, so the writing has been on the wall for some time. And, despite the fact that Gruden’s evaluation methods have created tension within the team’s personnel department, he is continuing his mission to rid the roster of talent that he inherited from McKenzie, which he has clearly been unhappy with.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that the Raiders are shopping 2016 first-round pick Karl Joseph, who has struggled with injuries during his brief career. La Canfora says that Joseph, who sat out the past two games with a hamstring injury, has also fallen out of favor with Oakland’s new staff.

Of course, Joseph’s senior year at West Virginia was cut short by a knee injury, and many teams placed a second- or third-round grade on him as a result. But the Raiders, then led by McKenzie, believed enough in Joseph’s talent to make him the No. 14 overall selection in the 2016 draft, and while he has certainly not played poorly with the Raiders, he has not exactly lived up to his draft status either. As such, it is unlikely the Raiders would be able to get much for him, especially as he is entering the most expensive year(s) of his rookie deal.

The Raiders have already tried to cut ties with Joseph’s fellow safety, 2017 second-rounder Obi Melifonwu, who is currently on IR but who has probably played his last down for Oakland. La Canfora also says that the team is willing to trade veteran Derrick Johnson, whom Gruden brought in to serve as Oakland’s starting middle linebacker this offseason. Johnson, who will turn 36 next month, is obviously not a part of the Raiders’ future plans.

Gruden has already shown a willingness to part with top-flight talent when he traded Khalil Mack before the start of the regular season, and La Canfora says that Gruden could soon be shopping another one of McKenzie’s prized draft picks, quarterback Derek Carr. The CBS scribe writes that a growing number of GMs believe Gruden could entertain offers for Carr in 2019, and it appears that the team will certainly be one of the busiest over the next couple of weeks, as the trade deadline looms on October 30.

Raiders Exercise Amari Cooper’s Fifth-Year Option

April 23rd, 2018 at 2:18pm CST by Zachary Links

No surprise here. The Raiders have exercised their fifth-year option on wide receiver Amari Cooper, per a club announcement.

As a wide receiver taken in the top 10, Cooper’s salary for 2019 will be $13.924MM. That’s not exactly cheap, but it’s well worth it for one of the best young wide receivers in the game.

The Raiders have already begun discussing a long-term deal with Cooper’s agent. There’s mutual interest in a long-term deal, but Cooper’s reps will push for a deal that will position him as one of the highest-paid players at his position.

“We’ve been in contact with his agent,” McKenzie said. “I don’t want to put anything out there, don’t want to put the cart before the horse so to speak, but we like Amari.”

Cooper, 24 in June, was inconsistent last year and had eight games with less than 40 yards receiving. However, he was excellent in the previous two years as he averaged 78 catches for 1,112 yards and six touchdowns.

Raiders To Exercise Amari Cooper’s Option

April 22nd, 2018 at 10:43am CST by Rory Parks

As expected, the Raiders plan to exercise Amari Cooper‘s fifth-year option, per ESPN’s Josina Anderson (via Twitter). The move will keep Cooper under club control through 2019 and will lock Cooper into a $13.924MM salary — guaranteed for injury only — for the 2019 campaign.

However, as we learned just a couple of days ago, the Raiders have begun discussing a long-term contract with Cooper’s agent, and if the two sides come to terms, Oakland will need to pony up more than the fifth-year option amount on an average annual basis. The high-priced deals signed by this year’s free agent receivers, as well as the mega-extension for Bucs wideout Mike Evans, will only boost Cooper’s leverage in talks.

Coooper, who doesn’t turn 24 until June, has compiled more than 2,900 receiving yards over the past three years. He positioned himself as one of the league’s best receivers right out of the gate as a rookie when he earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2015. He earned Pro Bowl honors once again in 2016, catching 83 passes for 1,153 yards and five scores.

However, Cooper’s numbers were less impressive last year, as he posted just 680 yards and saw a sizable dip in targets (though he did play in only 14 games after suiting up for all 16 contests in his first two seasons in the league). He’ll look to get back on track under new head coach Jon Gruden and will hope that opposing defenses will be paying some attention to new WR2 Jordy Nelson, though it’s debatable as to whether Nelson is a bigger threat than former Raider Michael Crabtree.

In any event, we can expect to see the former Alabama standout and No. 4 overall pick in black-and-silver for the foreseeable future.

Raiders, Amari Cooper Begin Talks

April 20th, 2018 at 3:40pm CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders have until May 3 to exercise Amari Cooper‘s fifth-year option, a decision that is nothing short of a no-brainer. Ideally, however, the Raiders would like to lock up the star wide receiver for the long haul. Discussions on a new contract appear to be underway.

“We’ve been in contact with his agent,” McKenzie said (via PFT). “I don’t want to put anything out there, don’t want to put the cart before the horse so to speak, but we like Amari.”

The fifth-year option for Cooper would cost the Raiders $13.924MM in 2019, but a new multi-year deal would have to provide Cooper with more than that on an average annual basis. The high-priced deals signed by this year’s free agent receivers, as well as the mega-extension for Bucs wideout Mike Evans, will only boost Cooper’s leverage in talks.

Coooper, who doesn’t turn 24 until June, has more than 2,900 receiving yards over the past three years. He positioned himself as one of the league’s best receivers right out of the gate as a rookie when he earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2015. He earned Pro Bowl honors once again in 2016 when he caught 83 passes for 1,153 yards and five scores.

Cooper’s numbers were less impressive last year, but he’ll look to get back on track under new head coach Jon Gruden. Opposing defenses will be paying some attention to new WR2 Jordy Nelson, though it’s debatable as to whether he is a bigger threat to teams than former teammate Michael Crabtree.

AFC Notes: Browns, Jackson, Broncos WR’s

December 22nd, 2017 at 10:06pm CST by GregGoldstein

The Browns are in serious danger of joining the 2008 Lions as the only teams to go 0-16 in a single season. Cleveland will take on the Bears and Steelers before the dust is settled, but will be moving forward with a new head football man in John Dorsey.

Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com answers a variety of questions in a video addressing many different questions swirling around the franchise. One question she touches on is how quickly of an impact Dorsey will have on the field? While Cabot did say that it will take some time to turn around the franchise, one thing Dorsey will emphasize is finding that franchise quarterback that the team has been craving for a long time. Cabot states that just like with the 49ers and Jimmy Garoppolo, if the Browns can find their guy this offseason, there could be a dramatic shift in the long-term outlook of the organization.

The Browns will likely hold the first overall pick so they could be faced with a choice regarding Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen should both draft eligible QB’s turn pro this offseason.

Here are more stories coming from the AFC:

While the Browns do have a new decision maker in Dorsey, head coach Hue Jackson remains a bit in-flux. While the team’s owner has expressed his desire to keep the veteran coach, there could be an added twist in this story because of the division rival Bengals, states Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. Pluto opines that should Jackson replace the embattled Marvin Lewis, that would allow Dorsey to put his own coach in place, leaving his relationship with owner Jimmy Haslam in-tact. Bengals owner Mike Brown seems to like guys he’s worked with in the past, so Jackson seems like a reasonable possibility, even given his 1-29 record in Cleveland.
The Broncos are very much playing out the string of this season with a number of different QB’s given injuries and poor play. However, the wide receiver position has taken a hit over the past week, according to Mike Klis of 9news.com. Klis notes that Denver could only have four wideouts active against the Redskins in Week 16. Demaryius Thomas, Bennie Fowler, Jordan Taylor and Isaiah McKenzie are the only healthy receivers available and could lead the team to serious depth problems should one of them go down this weekend. Emmanuel Sanders and Cody Latimer are both listed as questionable and really have no reason to be pushed given that the Broncos are not in the playoff race. Expect the team to rely on the running game in order to keep their receiving corps healthy on Sunday.
Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper has not been 100% since he suffered a concussion and an ankle injury vs. the Broncos a few weeks ago. The third-year wideout has been inconsistent while on the field this season, but said after practice on Friday that he “felt all right” and is “still working through” the injuries, according to Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review Journal (Twitter link). He remains questionable to play for Monday night’s game against the Eagles. Gehlken also passed along that four Raiders missed practice today, including: CB David Amerson (foot), C Rodney Hudson (ankle/illness), DL Treyvon Hester (ankle) and TE Clive Walford (concussion/neck) (Twitter link).

Amari Cooper Officially Ruled Out For Week 13

December 1st, 2017 at 6:02pm CST by GregGoldstein

It was expected considering that the Raiders’ wide receiver had not practiced all week, but the team officially ruled Amari Cooper out for Week 13 with a concussion and ankle injury, reports Scott Bair of NBC Sports.

The 23-year-old wideout suffered his concussion on a collision with Broncos safety Darian Stewart last Sunday, but we learned a few days ago that Cooper was also dealing with an injury to his ankle, which clearly lowered the probability he would play this weekend.

With Cooper out and Michael Crabtree suspended for the team’s upcoming matchup vs. the Giants, the Raiders will have to rely on the group of Jared Cook, Seth Roberts, Cordarrelle Patterson and Johnny Holton to make plays through the air.

Cooper was having quite the up-and-down season before the injury, posting great games like his 11 catch, 210 yards performance vs. the Chiefs in October, but also consistently catching fewer than five passes during contests as well.

The Raiders still remain squarely in the hunt for the AFC Wild Card, and now also find themselves just a game back of Kansas City in the AFC West with five weeks left to play.

Amari Cooper Also Dealing With Sprained Ankle

November 27th, 2017 at 2:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

On the same Darian Stewart hit that concussed Amari Cooper, the Raiders wide receiver suffered a sprained ankle, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).

Cooper will now have to surmount concussion protocol and recover sufficiently from this ankle malady in order to play against the Giants on Sunday.

The Raiders beat the Broncos despite missing both of their wide receivers for much of the contest, and Oakland could face the prospect of being without Cooper and Michael Crabtree again. Crabtree could face a suspension, although nothing has been announced yet, for his actions in the fight with Aqib Talib.

Beyond Cooper and Crabtree, the Silver and Black have Cordarrelle Patterson, Seth Roberts and Johnny Holton on their roster. The Raiders did not have to deal with any in-case-of-emergency receiver situations in their 12-4 2016 season; both Cooper and Crabtree started all 16 games. Cooper has never missed a game in his three-season NFL career.