Amari Cooper Returns To The Silver & Black

It has been a wild day for the Las Vegas Raiders, who released quite a few players, traded for a backup quarterback and brought back a familiar face.

Along with trading for backup quarterback Kenny Pickett on Monday, the Raiders have reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with veteran wideout Amari Cooper, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

The Las Vegas Raiders are signing free-agent wide receiver Amari Cooper to a one-year deal, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday.

Cooper started his career with the Raiders back in 2015 when the storied franchise took him No. 4 overall in the NFL Draft out of the University of Alabama. The highly touted rookie quickly became one of Derek Carr’s favorite targets in the passing game, as it didn’t take long for them to get on the same page.

The return of the five-time Pro Bowler comes in the wake of Jakobi Meyers’ trade request, says Schefter.

Cooper rejoins the Raiders after Jakobi Meyers requested a trade amid a contract dispute, according to a source. Meyers wants a new contract as he enters the final year of his deal and doesn’t have any guaranteed money remaining. The Raiders have no plans to trade the 28-year-old pass catcher.

The Raiders brass and Meyers haven’t been able to see eye-to-eye on a new deal, which has made for a difficult situation with the start of the season right around the corner on Sept. 7 against the New England Patriots on the road.

Cooper has bounced around the league a bit since leaving the Raiders, as he has had stints with the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills.

Raiders trade for QB Kenny Pickett

The Raiders needed to act quickly after hearing the news about Aidan O’Connell being set to miss six to eight weeks with a broken wrist, so they pivoted to bringing in Kenny Pickett. He’ll presumably be Geno Smith’s backup with rookie Cam Miller being the third-stringer.