Amari Cooper retires days before Raiders opener, stunning franchise and reshaping Week 1

A retirement call that changed the week

Five Pro Bowls. Seven 1,000-yard seasons. 10,000-plus receiving yards. And now, a phone call that landed like a hammer: Amari Cooper told the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday morning he’s retiring from the NFL, just days before the 2025 season opener against the New England Patriots.

The 31-year-old wideout had signed a one-year deal on August 26, framing his return to the franchise that drafted him as a “full-circle moment.” He spoke last week about “unfinished business” in Las Vegas and said he still had “some juice left.” Then, with the opener looming, he called head coach Pete Carroll and shut the door on a decade-long career.

Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly didn’t sugarcoat the shock. He said Cooper rang Carroll in the morning, told him he was done, and that was that. “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.”

General manager John Spytek had expected Cooper to play a real role on Sunday. That plan flipped in an instant. There’s no public explanation from Cooper beyond his decision to step away. The timing is rare, but not unheard of in the league. Players have walked away late in summer before, usually citing health, family, or a simple feeling that the tank isn’t where it needs to be. Cooper hasn’t said why—only that he’s done.

If the Raiders thought this week would be about fine-tuning, it just turned into a scramble. They have four receivers on the active roster and were leaning on Cooper to be the veteran outside target while mentoring rookies Dont’e Thornton Jr. and Jack Bech. Now, the depth chart gets thinner and the job descriptions change.

This is also a whiplash moment considering Cooper’s career arc. Drafted fourth overall by the then-Oakland Raiders in 2015, he built a reputation as one of the best route-runners in football. He played for four teams—the Raiders (2015–18), Cowboys (2018–22), Browns (2022–23), and Bills (2024)—amassing 711 catches for 10,033 yards and 64 touchdowns. He topped 1,000 yards in seven seasons and peaked at 1,250 yards in 2023. Last year with the Bills, he logged 44 receptions for 547 yards and four touchdowns across 14 games, starting 10.

He wasn’t the loudest star, but he was relentlessly productive. The Raiders brought him back to stabilize a young room and give Carroll and Kelly a trusted X receiver. Instead, two days out from Week 1, they face a new reality.

What Cooper’s exit means for Las Vegas—right now

First, the obvious: the game plan changes. Without a proven boundary target, the Raiders will lean harder on Jakobi Meyers and Tre Tucker at wide receiver and on star tight end Brock Bowers, who set rookie records in 2024 with 112 receptions for 1,194 yards. That likely means more quick-game concepts, heavier tight end usage, and motions to shake free releases for younger receivers who aren’t used to facing CB1s.

Meyers can work inside or outside, but he’s at his best when he can move and attack leverage. Tucker brings speed and can threaten vertically, though he’s more effective as a changeup than a volume possession option. Bowers is the centerpiece now. Expect him in bunch sets, as a move tight end, and even split wide to manufacture clean looks. If the staff wants a like-for-like outside presence, they may ask one of the rookies to grow up fast.

Second, the rotation gets complicated. The Raiders had hoped Cooper would mentor Thornton Jr. and Bech while shouldering early down snaps outside. Without him, the staff has to choose between fast-tracking a rookie or leaning into more two-tight end groupings and condensed formations to help receivers get off the line. The Patriots thrive on disrupting timing at the snap. That’s exactly where a veteran like Cooper helps—by beating press with technique and forcing defenses to respect the boundary.

Third, the locker room. Cooper’s reputation as a pro’s pro mattered as much as his production. The Raiders brought him in to set a tone and stabilize a young offense under a new staff. That responsibility now shifts to Meyers, Bowers, and the quarterback, who must keep the chain moving without the steady 8-yard comeback that Cooper gives you on demand.

Expect the front office to move quickly. The options:

• Scour the waiver wire after final cuts. Every year, veterans with starting experience shake free.
• Elevate from the practice squad. Teams can elevate two players per game without signing them to the 53.
• Explore a low-cost trade. Early-season swaps for a mid-round pick are rare but not impossible when a team faces a clear need.
• Lean on scheme. Chip Kelly can tilt toward tempo, RPO looks, and motion-heavy sets to create layups for young receivers.

There’s also the cap and roster mechanics to handle. Retirements usually shift a player to the reserve/retired list, which opens a roster spot and can free up some salary. The exact impact depends on how the contract was structured—bonuses, guarantees, and triggers tied to being on the Week 1 roster. With a one-year deal inked just days ago, the dead-money hit is likely limited, but the accounting still matters when you’re scanning the market for help.

From a football standpoint, the hardest thing to replace is Cooper’s reliability on the outside. When a defense plays single-high and dares you to win 1-on-1, a veteran like Cooper makes life easy on the quarterback—clean breaks, friendly throwing windows, and dependable separation on third down. Without that, coordinators often use stacks and bunches to create natural picks, or they slide their best tight end to the boundary to force mismatches. Bowers is built for that. If he starts drawing bracket coverage, the Raiders will need a second option to punish it—Meyers on glance routes, Tucker on overs, or a rookie flashing early.

The timing also puts added pressure on Pete Carroll’s staff. In August, it’s installation and chemistry. In September, it’s survival and matchups. The Patriots are notorious for taking away what you do best. Before today, that might have been Cooper’s isolation routes. Now it’s Bowers and the underneath game. Expect New England to challenge the Raiders’ receivers at the line and dare them to finish contested catches.

Inside the building, Thursday will go down as a day of triage. Position coaches will reshuffle reps in practice. The front office will place calls. The staff will strip down the plan to what the current group does well. For rookies, that means a smaller menu—limited route trees, repeatable concepts, and clearer landmarks. For veterans, it means more targets and tougher matchups.

For Cooper, this closes a career defined by smooth routes and quiet excellence. He crossed 10,000 yards in an era stacked with star receivers. He thrived in multiple systems, from West Coast principles to vertical play-action. And he stayed productive across four franchises, not easy for any wideout. Whether he ever plays again is a different question. The Raiders will retain his rights on the reserve/retired list if that’s the final move, which is standard in these situations. But teams plan for the players in the building, not hypotheticals.

The ripple effects extend beyond Week 1. Without a veteran at X, the Raiders may tweak personnel usage all season—more 12 personnel (two tight ends), heavier reliance on motion, and a bigger role for backs in the passing game. You could also see more shot plays off play-action to offset a lack of easy outs on the perimeter. If a rookie pops, great. If not, expect a steady search for dependable third-down answers.

Around the league, this will kick up the familiar debate about timing and player autonomy. Teams build plans months in advance, but football is blunt on the body and the mind. We’ve seen late-summer exits before, and they always look abrupt from the outside. Cooper didn’t hint at an issue—quite the opposite, in fact—yet he woke up, called the coach, and said he was done. Sometimes the clarity comes all at once.

What hasn’t changed is his standing among modern route technicians. Watch his early Raiders tape and you see the foundation—explosive releases, tempo changes within routes, and that sudden stop at the top of the stem that leaves corners grabbing air. In Dallas, he became the quarterback’s best friend on third down. In Cleveland, he put up numbers through chaos. In Buffalo, he handled a smaller role and still found the end zone four times. Ten seasons, 64 scores, and the kind of production that ages well in the record book.

The Raiders, meanwhile, have to pivot fast. If they find a veteran this week, he’s not likely to play a full load in the opener. Terminology, chemistry, and trust take time. So the early answer is internal: more Bowers, more Meyers on option routes, Tucker as the space creator, and a rookie or two asked to win on limited packages. The staff can also hunt matchups by moving Bowers around—force a linebacker to cover him in space, or make a smaller corner tackle after the catch.

There’s a human side to all this too. Cooper was back where it started, ready to mentor the next wave, planning to help reset a franchise trying to find traction under a new head coach. Then he stepped away. Teammates will say the right things—next man up, trust the plan—and they’ll mean it. But losing a player of this caliber on a Thursday in Week 1 prep changes the mood in the room. It sharpens everything.

By Sunday, it will be about the football again—how the Raiders build completions, protect the quarterback, and handle third-and-seven without the steady drumbeat of Cooper’s chain-moving routes. The defense will know the assignment: keep it close while the offense finds itself. The special teams will try to steal field position. That’s how teams ride out a gut-punch week. And sometimes, that’s when young players grow up.

For the Raiders, the calendar won’t wait. The opener arrives whether you’re ready or not. Cooper is done. The plan is different. The stakes are the same.