Amari Cooper

At 29 years old, Amari Cooper has this physical status:

College career

Cooper appeared in all 14 games, including starts in the final nine games as a freshman at Alabama. With 59 receptions for 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns, he led the team in touchdowns. Alabama's 62-year-old record by Al Lary was shattered by the 11 touchdowns. Julio Jones' Alabama freshman records were broken in terms of receptions and receiving yards. In the 32-28 victory over Georgia, he had eight receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown, as well as the game's go-ahead touchdown with only 3 minutes remaining. With a 42-14 victory over Notre Dame, Cooper led all Alabama receivers with six interceptions for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Cooper received consensus Freshman All-American recognition and was selected by the league coaches to the SEC All-Freshman team.

Cooper appeared in 12 games with seven starts in 2013, but he missed two games due to injury as a sophomore. He had 45 receptions for a team-high 736 yards and four touchdowns. In the Iron Bowl, he played his best game of the season against Auburn, with six receptions for 178 yards, including a school record 99-yard touchdown reception from quarterback A. J. McCarron. In the 45–31 loss, he had nine receptions for 121 yards against Oklahoma.

Cooper set numerous single-season and career records for Alabama as a junior in 2014. He tied for the most games receiving yards against Tennessee, finishing with 224 yards. He later tied Auburn for the most records. Cooper had 124 receptions for 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns on the season, setting both school records. In addition, his 124 receptions were a SEC record. He made Alabama's all-time leader in receptions (228), receiving yards (3,463), and receiving touchdowns (31). Cooper finished third in the Heisman Trophy, behind Marcus Mariota and Melvin Gordon. He earned the Biletnikoff Award this season and was also named a unanimous All-American.

Cooper made the NFL Draft in 2015 following his junior season.

Professional career

Cooper, along with Kevin White, has been named one of the best wide receivers in the 2015 draft class. In most mock drafts, he was expected to be a top-ten pick, with some naming him as the fourth pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Cooper was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the first round with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Cooper was initially assigned the number 19, but after the release of fellow receiver James Jones, he was moved to number 89. In a 33-13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, he had five receptions for 47 yards. He had 109 yards and scored his first touchdown on a 68-yard pass from Derek Carr in his second game against the Baltimore Ravens. Cooper's first Raiders receiver with consecutive 100+ yard receiving games since Randy Moss in 2005 led him to a franchise rookie record eight receptions for 134 yards in a 27-20 road win over the Cleveland Browns. His 290 receiving yards were third in NFL history through three games. In a 35–38 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on November 8, 2015, Cooper tied Tim Brown's record for rookie receptions (43).

Cooper became the first rookie in franchise history to reach the 1,000-yard mark on December 20, 2015, and the first receiver in the club to reach that record since Randy Moss in 2005. His 72 receptions have also set franchise rookie records. Cooper, alongside teammates Derek Carr and Latavius Murray, was chosen as an alternate for the Pro Bowl on December 22, 2015; he later replaced Brandon Marshall and played. For 2015, he was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team.

Cooper had a fruitful second season in the league. In a 35–34 road victory over the New Orleans Saints in the season opener, he had six receptions for 137 yards. In a 34-31 victory over the San Diego Chargers, he had six receptions for 138 yards and a touchdown. In a 30–24 overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he had his best game of the season with 12 receptions for 173 yards and a touchdown. He had 83 receptions for 1,153 yards and five touchdowns. Cooper was named in his second straight Pro Bowl on December 20, 2016. He was also ranked 53rd by his peers on the 2017 NFL Top 100 Players.

Cooper had only five receptions on 13 targets in the season opener against the Tennessee Titans, though one of them was a touchdown. Cooper, who had 33 yards in Week 2, had three games in a row with less than 10 receiving yards. On Thursday Night Football, Cooper defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 31-30 in Week 31, but he only passed for 11 yards and two touchdowns, a new record. His yardage was the most by any NFL player at that time in the 2017 season, the second-most in franchise history, and the first 200+ yard game in franchise history since 1965. Cooper was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his stellar debut in Week 7. Cooper had three receptions for 115 yards and an 87-yard touchdown in the 30–10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on the season finale. He was later found to have struggled through the second half of the season with an ankle injury that restricted his play. Cooper finished the 2017 season with 48 receptions for 680 yards, but he did have a career-high seven touchdowns.

The Raiders tried the fifth-year deal on Cooper's contract on April 22, 2018.

In a 45-42 overtime victory over the Cleveland Browns, Cooper caught eight passes for 128 yards and a touchdown. Cooper suffered a concussion against the Seattle Seahawks in London two weeks later and was knocked unconscious. The Raiders lost 27–3.

Cooper was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a first-round pick (27th overall, Johnathan Abram) in the 2019 NFL Draft on October 22, 2018.

Cooper led the team with five receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown in their first game with the Cowboys on November 5, defeating the Tennessee Titans by 28–14. Cooper had eight receptions for 180 yards and two touchdowns, including a 90-yard touchdown in the third quarter as the Cowboys defeated the Washington Redskins by a score of 31–23 on Thanksgiving Day. For his appearance, he was named as the NFC Offensive Player of the Week. Cooper had ten catches against the Philadelphia Eagles this week, totaling a career-high 217 yards and three touchdowns. The Cowboys defeated the Browns by 29–23, with his last touchdown coming off a Rasul Douglas deflection. His 217 receiving yards were the most by a single player in a single game in the 2018 season. Cooper received his second NFC Offensive Player of the Week award for his work this week. He received his third Pro Bowl nomination in his career.

The Cowboys finished ten-down with a 10–6 record and were the number-four seed for the NFC playoffs. Cooper had seven receptions for 106 yards in the Wild Card Round victory over the Seattle Seahawks. In the 30-22 road loss, he had six receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown. Cooper was activated from the NFC Pro Bowl roster on January 21, 2019 as an injury replacement for New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas. Cooper made 15 appearances, 1,005 yards, and seven touchdown receptions in 15 games on the Raiders and Cowboys rosters during the 2018 season. On the NFL Top 100 Players of 2019. He was ranked 64th by his peers.

Cooper said on July 1, 2019, "I think the change of scenery was really important." "I'm sure I would have thrived and hit some heights that I wasn't able to reach as a Cowboy." So, it was definitely necessary."

Cooper made six passes for 106 yards and a touchdown during the Cowboys' season opener against the New York Giants, defeating them by a score of 35–17. As the Cowboys lost to the Green Bay Packers by a score of 34–24, Cooper passed 11 passes for a career-high 226 yards and a touchdown during Week 5. As the Cowboys lost by a score of 28-23, he caught 11 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown during Week ten against the Minnesota Vikings. In the 31–24 road loss, Cooper caught six passes for 83 yards and a touchdown on Thursday Night Football. He had 1,000 receiving yards on the season during the game. He was named to his third Pro Bowl appearance in 2019 for his efforts.

Cooper finished the 2019 season with 79 receptions for a career-high 1,189 yards and eight touchdowns in 16 games and starts. He was ranked 49th out of his fellow footballers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020.

Cooper signed a five-year contract extension with the Cowboys worth $100 million, $40 million at signing, and a $20 million injury designation that would be fully guaranteed in 2022.

Cooper finished with at least 100 receiving yards in four games during the 2020 season. Despite having four quarterbacks return from the season due to injuries, Cooper completed the 2020 season with 92 receptions for 1,114 yards and five touchdowns in 16 games and 15 starts.

In a 31-29 road loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cooper had 13 receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns in his first appearance in the regular season opener. His 13 receptions set a new record for the first time by a Cowboys player in a season-opening game. Cooper completed eight passes for 122 yards and the game-winning touchdown during a Week 8-20-16 road victory over the Minnesota Vikings. After testing positive for COVID-19, Cooper skipped Weeks 11 and 12.

Cooper finished the 2021 regular season with 68 receptions for 865 yards and a career-high eight touchdowns (tied for the team's lead) in 15 games and 14 starts. In the Wild Card Round against the San Francisco 49ers, Cooper had six receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown.

Cooper was fined $11,650 by the NFL on January 14, 2022, for attending a Dallas Mavericks game without wearing a face mask, a violation of COVID-19 protocol.

Cooper was traded to the Cleveland Browns in return for a fifth-round pick and a swap of sixth-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft on March 16, 2022.

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