Taken fourth overall in 2015 by an Oakland Raiders team coached by Jack Del Rio with Reggie McKenzie as the general manager, Cooper is joining the Las Vegas Raiders, with Pete Carroll as his new head coach and GM John Spytek having worked out his new deal.
Back then, Cooper was a young star ready to shine. Now, he’ll be the most experienced and accomplished member of the Raiders receiving crew.
Second-season tight end Brock Bowers will be viewed as quarterback Geno Smith‘s top target. Beyond Meyers, the Raiders WR corps includes three rookies — second-rounder Jack Bech, fourth-rounder Dont’e Thornton Jr. and sixth-rounder Tommy Mellott — along with speedster Tre Tucker. There’s a dearth of proven talent and the hope is obvious that Cooper will remedy that in some facet.
He will potentially be looked upon as a mentor and certainly as a stabilizing and experienced target for Smith.
Cooper heads to Vegas with 10 seasons, 154 games and 143 starts under his belt, having played three-plus years with the Raiders to begin his career before he was traded for the first of three times. He was sent to the Dallas Cowboys in 2018 and spent another three-plus seasons with them before he was shipped to the Browns ahead of the 2022 campaign. Last season, Cleveland traded him yet again, this time to the Bills.
In his career, Cooper has produced 711 receptions, 10,033 yards and 64 touchdowns.
Last year was the least productive of his tenure, though. With the Browns and Bills, he combined for 44 catches for 547 yards and four TDs in 14 games.
In 2023 with the Browns, he had a career-best 1,250 yards and went to the Pro Bowl. He’s not that far removed from peak production and will aim to show he’s still got juice left.
Once more a Raider, Cooper returns to the team he began his career with, looking to help kick off another new era for the Silver and Black.