Report: NFL Veteran Retires Before Week 1 Game Vs. Patriots

The New England Patriots won’t face a recent AFC East foe when opening their 2025 season against the Las Vegas Raiders this Sunday.

Amari Cooper told the Raiders he intends to retire, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The wide receiver ends a 10-year career one week after signing with the team that drafted him a decade ago.

As a No. 4 pick out of Alabama, Cooper exceeded 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons with the Raiders. They traded him to the Dallas Cowboys during a 2018 in-season firesale, and he steered his new team to the playoffs with 725 yards and six touchdowns in nine games.

Cooper collected 3,168 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns in three full seasons with the Cowboys, but Dallas sent him to the Cleveland Browns before the 2022 campaign to unload his hefty salary. He deposited a career-high nine touchdowns that season and a personal-high 1,250 receiving yards in 2023.

Another trade shipped Cooper to the Buffalo Bills last October. The 6-foot-1 wideout didn’t make the same impact at his latest landing spot, catching 20 of 32 targets for 297 yards and two touchdowns in eight regular-season games.

Cooper tallied six receptions for 41 yards in three playoff contests. If he officially retires, Cooper will have ended his career with 33 yards in an AFC Championship Game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Raiders recently added Cooper to a light receiving room led by former Patriots standout Jakobi Meyers, who requested a trade while seeking a new contract. Meyers said he intends to play Sunday’s season-opener at Gillette Stadium, which starts at 1 p.m. ET.