Getty NFL free agent WR Pharoh Cooper.
The Las Vegas Raiders offense has hit a rough patch with the 24-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints. The team had the third-highest scoring offense in the NFL heading into Week 8 but couldn’t muster a single point against one of the league’s worst defenses. Much of the struggles were due to the lackluster play from the team’s wide receivers.
Both Hunter Renfrow and Davante Adams had one catch each in Week 8. Mack Hollins had a solid game with six catches but no other wide receivers stepped up. The Raiders might be interested in adding another player to the fold. The team brought in former Los Angeles Rams wide receiver and former All-Pro kick returner Pharoh Cooper for a workout, per the wire.
Cooper has bounced around the NFL a bit since getting drafted in 2016. He most recently played eight games with the New York Giants last season but hasn’t gotten on a roster this year. Cooper is more of a returner than a wide receiver. He only has 59 catches for 539 yards over his career. However, the Raiders may want some kick return help. The team hasn’t had a kick returner get a touchdown since 2011. They are ninth in the NFL in kick return average yards this season. Cooper could likely provide an upgrade over DJ Turner and Keelan Cole.
Raiders Skip Trade Deadline
The Raiders are 2-5 after heading into the season with playoff expectations. It’s been a huge disappointment for a team that made the playoffs last year and spent big money in the offseason. The NFL trade deadline just passed and many teams were aggressive in trying to improve or sell off assets. Not the Raiders. They decided to stand pat and not make any moves. That wasn’t due to a lack of trying. General manager Dave Ziegler said that the team was looking into a number of trades but couldn’t find a deal that he felt was fair.
“You can make mistakes when you get overaggressive and you’re just doing something to do something,” Ziegler said Wednesday. “At the end of the day, the value didn’t fit for us.”
The Raiders aren’t punting on the season yet but they also haven’t figured out a way to improve. It’ll be interesting to see what happens if the team puts up another dud against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
.@K1 to Pharoh Cooper for another @AZCardinals TD! #RedSea #AZvsSF
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Raiders Want to Get Davante Adams More Involved
If the offense is going to thrive, they need to figure out how to get Davante Adams the ball. Having one catch for the five-time Pro Bowler isn’t a recipe for success. Head coach Josh McDaniels spoke about the importance of getting him involved.
“I think the defense always has an opportunity to try to use schemes to limit players, there’s no question that that happens,” McDaniels said Wednesday. “He’s seen that his whole career once he started being a very productive player. And so, you have to try different things, play multiple positions, there’s a lot of ways you could attempt that. And at times, the defense will still try to double or put two people or more around somebody, that’s happened to him. It’s happened to Hunter [Renfrow] at times, it’s happened to Darren [Waller] some when those guys were out there earlier in the year.”