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Oakland Raiders to exercise option on WR Amari Cooper

By The Sports Xchange
Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper (89) tries to fend off former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters in the third quarter on December 6, 2015 at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California. File photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI
Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper (89) tries to fend off former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters in the third quarter on December 6, 2015 at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California. File photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

The Oakland Raiders are expected to pick up the fifth-year option of wide receiver Amari Cooper, ESPN's Josina Anderson reported on Sunday.

Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie said the team has had conversations with Cooper's agent. While McKenzie did not divulge if the team would pick up the option for the 2019 season, Anderson reported that the club is set to exercise it "imminently."

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That option will pay him $13.9 million for the 2019 season, per Spotrac.com.

Teams have until May 3 to exercise fifth-year options on 2015 first-round selections.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr told Sirius XM Mad Dog Radio in February that Cooper's dramatic decline in production last season was due to playing on "one foot."

"He would never say it to you -- no one would ever say it to you -- but I'll say it to you to have his back," Carr said at the time. "That man was out there playing as hard as he could and giving everything he could and, honestly, a lot of guys probably wouldn't have played with what he had."

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Cooper did have a career-high seven touchdown catches but he finished the 2017 campaign with only 48 receptions for 680 yards after surpassing 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons.

The 23-year-old Cooper had a three-game stretch from Weeks 3-5 where he had a combined four receptions for 23 yards. He did erupt for 11 catches for 210 yards and two touchdowns versus Kansas City on Oct. 19 but did not have another 100-yard game until the regular-season finale.

An ankle injury and concussion also forced the 2015 first-round pick (No. 4 overall) to miss a pair of games late in the season.

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