WR Cooper informs Raiders he's retiring from NFL

Wide receiver Amari Cooper, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, has informed the Las Vegas Raiders that he intends to retire just days before the team opens the 2025 season at New England.

Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said Cooper called coach Pete Carroll in the morning to say he was done playing.

"It's unfortunate because I think he's a heck of a football player," Kelly said. "... But he knows in his heart what he wants to do, so I wish him the best."

Cooper's decision comes after he signed a one-year deal with the organization on Aug. 26. Cooper, 31, said that returning to the Raiders -- who drafted him fourth overall in 2015, when they were based in Oakland -- was a "full-circle moment" and that he still had "some juice left."

General manager John Spytek said last week that the team anticipated Cooper having a "big part" in Sunday's game plan against the Patriots.

"He was training with us and got reps," Kelly said Thursday. "I think, for everybody, you're not making your final [48-man game-day roster] decisions until Saturday anyway. So, we hadn't had any discussions."

Carroll, who played a significant role in recruiting Cooper to Las Vegas, said he expected Cooper to play on the outside while being a mentor for rookies Dont'e Thornton Jr. and Jack Bech.

"[Cooper and Thornton] will be doing a lot of the same stuff," Carroll said. "I think Amari's way can affect [Thornton] and help him come along. There's a lot of pressure for [Thornton] to be the only X over there that we're kind of going with, and so I think this really balances us out well. And I hope it really suits Jack and Dont'e."

Cooper's departure leaves the Raiders wide receivers room down to Bech, Thornton, Tre Tucker and Jakobi Meyers, who recently requested a trade due to an ongoing contract dispute.

Las Vegas also has Justin Shorter, Shedrick Jackson and Alex Bachman, a training camp standout, on the practice squad.

Thornton, a projected starter, said it was a "starstruck" feeling to have been in the locker room with Cooper in the short time they were together. He added that he tried to ask Cooper as many questions as he could.

"One of the best receivers to ever do it," Thornton said of Cooper.

​​In 52 career games with the Silver and Black, Cooper totaled 225 catches for 3,183 yards and 19 touchdowns. He surpassed 1,000 yards in his first two seasons. The Raiders traded Cooper to the Dallas Cowboys during the 2018 season. The Cowboys then traded him to the Cleveland Browns in the 2022 offseason, and the Buffalo Bills acquired him last October from the Browns.

In Cooper's 14 games (10 starts) in 2024, he collected 44 receptions for 547 yards (12.4 average) and four touchdowns.

He finishes his career with 711 receptions, 10,033 receiving yards and 64 touchdowns. He had seven seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards, including a career-high 1,250 in 2023.