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Following the first playoff appearance in well over a decade, the Oakland Raiders took a significant step back in the 2017 season.
Among the disappointment was the subpar play from Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper who put up career lows across the board with 48 catches on 56 targets for 680 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 14 games. There was a notable drop in his level of performance that quarterback Derek Carr admitted that the fourth-year wideout was dealing with injuries throughout the year that he believes impacted the 23-year-old's ability on the field, according to Eddie Borsilli of SiriusXM NFL Radio.
Carr also went on to say that Amari battled injuries all season.
"He would never say it to you but I'll say it to you to have his back. That man was out there giving anything he could and honestly, a lot of guys probably wouldn't have played with what he had"
— Eddie Borsilli (@Borsilli) February 16, 2018
For much of the season, Cooper did not look like the promising wide receiver that had quickly become of the top young players at his position over his first two seasons. Instead, there was a notable lack of consistency in his play that saw him finish with fewer than 70 receiving yards in all but two games played. This included failing to crack double-digit receiving yards on five occasions along with being held without a catch once.
He did show flashes of his promise with two 100-yard receiving performance that was topped by a huge outing in Week 7 against the Chiefs, tallying 11 catches for 210 receiving yards and two touchdowns. There hadn't been much acknowledgment by the former first-rounder that he had been ailed by injuries aside from the concussion and ankle that forced him to miss a game late in the season.
Cooper will have a chance to use the offseason to fully recuperate his body ahead of the 2018 season where he can bounce back in a major way. He will likely assume being the top target in the passing game with the expected departure of veteran wide receiver Michael Crabtree in a rejuvenated offense under head coach Jon Gruden in his first campaign back with the team.
