Story by
Why did Amari Cooper retire? Explaining ex-Raiders WR's decision to call it quits
- Story by
- Why did Amari Cooper retire? Explaining ex-Raiders WR's decision to call it quits
Why did Amari Cooper retire? Explaining ex-Raiders WR's decision to call it quits originally appeared on The Sporting News
The Las Vegas Raiders were hit with an unexpected blow to their wide receivers room right before the start of the 2025 campaign when Amari Cooper decided to retire.
Advertisement
Cooper officially signed with the Raiders on Aug. 26, but he decided to call it quits just nine days later, which was surprising considering Cooper was determined to make an impact in his second go around with the Raiders.
"I always had that in the back of my mind because when I was drafted here, I felt like the expectations were high and I felt like I did OK, but I always knew why I was drafted," Cooper said.
"You draft a guy top 5, you expect him to come and really help change the organization, and I felt like at times I showed flashes of doing that, but it wasn't to my expectations," he added. "This time around, I feel like I have unfinished business."
So, what was behind Cooper's decision to retire? A few NFL insiders have given us some insight into that.
Advertisement
Why did Amari Cooper retire?
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Cooper informed the Raiders that he " no longer has the desire to play and intends to retire."
The Athletic's Tashan Reed noted that Cooper " was unimpressive in practice and didn't have the look of a difference maker.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero added that Cooper " had been struggling to ramp up since re-signing."
The writing was on the wall last season that Cooper might be on the decline. After all, he posted career-worst numbers during his stints with the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills , the latter of whom acquired him before the trade deadline.
Advertisement
With Cooper gone, the Raiders are now set to rely heavily on rookie Dont'e Thornton, who had an impressive offseason.
Thornton was listed as the team's starter even after the Cooper signing, but the idea was that Cooper would take some work from him, and quite possibly surpass him on the depth chart entirely.
Now, that's not going to happen and Thornton is in line for a huge role.
MORE NFL NEWS
