Perhaps it sounded too good to be true, but Amari Cooper’s decision to return to the team that drafted him, in all likelihood to see out what remained of his career, proved to be just that — just around 51 weeks earlier than anyone expected.

Cooper surprised the Las Vegas Raiders, and much of the wider NFL world, by announcing that he was hanging up his cleats after 10 seasons, half of which rewarded the wideout with a Pro Bowl berth. Drafted in the first round by the then Oakland Raiders in 2015, Cooper left before seeing out his full rookie contract after being traded to the Dallas Cowboys after just three-and-a-half seasons. He subsequently spent time with Cleveland and Buffalo before agreeing to ‘return home’ for the 2025 campaign.

Now, just a fortnight after arriving in Vegas, and with less than that to go before the Raiders kick off their campaign against New England, Cooper has decided that he ‘no longer wants to play football’, prompting the silver-and-black to sign Justin Shorter to the active roster and add the well-travelled Phillip Dorsett to the practice squad. Shorter, now starting his third season, featured in 10 games for the Raiders last year, having initially been selected in the fifth round of the 2023 draft by Buffalo.

Cooper retires with a shade over 10,000 receiving yards on his resume (10,033) — with seven 1,000-yard campaigns among them — and 64 touchdowns to his name.