The Oakland Raiders haven't gotten off to a great start in Jon Gruden's second stint with the team. Following Week 6's loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the storied franchise is now sitting at 1-5 on the season with rumors circulating about another big-name player potentially being traded.
Before the game against the Seahawks, a rumor surfaced about wide receiver Amari Cooper being on the trading block in Oakland. With the team trading arguably their best player away in Khalil Mack before the season, it seems anything is possible for the Raiders, but Gruden denied that Cooper is on his way out, via Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area.
“I don’t know,” Gruden said. “I haven’t heard that. I’m not. I’m not. I’m just sorry to have to deal with a lot of these reports. I just hope Amari’s OK. Like I said, he’s going to be a big part of our pass offense.”
Before the 2018 campaign got underway, Gruden made it abundantly clear that Cooper would play a major part in the team's offense this season. Basically, he pegged the young wideout as their go-to guy even with the arrival of proven veteran Jordy Nelson.
Unfortunately for Cooper, that hasn't been the case through the first six weeks of the season. The former Alabama star has caught only 22 passes for 280 yards and touchdown thus far and has been anything but the star Gruden hoped he'd be this year.
As for the immediate future in Oakland, there's no telling whether Gruden is telling the truth about Cooper or if a move is imminent as he continues to try and figure things out with the club. It'll be an interesting two weeks for the Raiders as they head into their bye week.