Amari Cooper needed about a week to realize he’d rather be watching football from his couch.
Cooper surprisingly informed the Raiders he plans to retire a little more than one week after signing with them, according to NFL Network.
The 31-year-old reportedly told the team he “no longer has the desire to play.”
Cooper did not sign during the first wave of free agency and it seemed he might not have a team for the season before the Raiders inked him to a one-year deal on Aug. 26.
The signing marked a reunion with the franchise that selected him — when based in Oakland — with the fourth pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
“It’s nice, man. It’s a good feeling. Feels like a full-circle moment,” Cooper said after signing. “I’m excited about the opportunity, for sure, and I’m ready to embrace it.
“I feel like this was the perfect opportunity to show that, trust me, I still got some juice left. I want to show it.”
Cooper then began preparations for his 11th season, but three days before the Raiders’ opener at the Patriots he decided to hang up his cleats.
His decision comes after the worst year of his career in 2024 with the Browns and Bills, an injury-filled campaign in which he tallied 44 catches for a career-low 547 yards and four scores.
Cooper battled a wrist injury that limited him after the Bills acquired him from Cleveland, and he registered just six catches for 41 yards in three postseason games.
The former Alabama star earned five Pro Bowl berths during his career, and finished with 711 catches for 10,033 yards and 64 receiving touchdowns.
He topped 1,000 yards seven times in his career, setting his career-highs in catches (92) in 2020, receiving yards (1,250) in 2023 and touchdowns (nine) in 2022.
Cooper played for the Browns from 2015 until a midseason trade in 2018 that sent him to Dallas, and he then starred for the NFC East squad until a 2021 trade to the Browns.
His addition would have provided a young Raiders receiving room a veteran presence heading into their Week 1 road game against the Patriots.
The Raiders are already dealing with uncertainty with veteran Jakobi Meyers, who requested a trade that the team did not grant.
New England is a 2.5-point home favorite Sunday in what will be the respective team coaching debuts of the Raiders’ Pete Carroll and New England’s Mike Vrabel.