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One of the most maligned former Raiders over the last few years has been wide receiver Amari Cooper. The 2015 first-round pick made the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons with the team but his production quickly took a nosedive. Over his last 20 games with the Raiders, he only had 960 receiving yards and would disappear for games at a time.
The team decided to trade him to the Dallas Cowboys in the middle of the 2018 season for a first-round pick. After the trade, Cooper did throw a bit of shade at the Raiders, which earned him the ire of the fan base. However, it has been three years since the trade and there doesn’t appear to be any hard feelings. Cooper was supposed to play against his former team for the first time on Thanksgiving but will be sitting out due to COVID-19. He still had a chance to talk about his former team.
“I don’t have any bitter feelings,” Cooper said. “I can’t say that I do just because I really do understand the business.
“The production wasn’t what it needed to be. That’s really the only way a team will get rid of you. So I understand.”
Cooper even admitted that his play did warrant the Raiders wanting to trade and referenced his issue with dropped passes.
“Yeah, I mean I do take responsibility because I did have some drops when I was there,” Cooper said. “So I do take responsibility for that.”
It appears that Cooper has moved on and understands why the team traded him away.
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Cowboys Could Be Without 2 WRs Against Raiders
GettyFormer Raiders WR Amari Cooper.
Coming into Thanksgiving on a three-game losing streak, the Raiders absolutely need to steal a win against the Cowboys if they hope to salvage the season. The AFC is still wide open and the team could be back in the playoff race with a win over a good Dallas team.
Also, the Raiders will have a couple of things working to their advantage. As noted earlier, Cooper will not be playing. He’s their No. 1 wide receiver and his absence should affect the passing game. Fellow wide receiver CeeDee Lamb suffered a concussion during Sunday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones recently said that Lamb is “doing very well,” but it’s far from a guarantee he’ll be able to play. If the Cowboys are missing their two best wide receivers, the Raiders could steal a surprising win.
Did Raiders Win or Lose the Cooper Trade?
Getting a first-round pick for Cooper back in 2018 looked like a great deal for the Raiders back then as he was struggling to make an impact. However, he quickly became a key player for the Cowboys and returned to Pro Bowl form. With the first-round pick, the Raiders drafted safety Johnathan Abram.
There’s no question that Cooper is a better player than Abram, but that doesn’t mean the Raiders necessarily lost the trade. Cooper wasn’t going to re-sign with the team once he hit free agency and he wasn’t playing well. The team would’ve kept him around for a couple more seasons only to lose him for nothing in free agency. Abram isn’t great but he’s certainly better than nothing. One could say the Cowboys definitely won the trade but that doesn’t mean the Raiders were huge losers of it.
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