Las Vegas Raiders find a potential replacement for Amari Cooper and it was someone they knew all along
The Las Vegas Raiders now have to find someone to replace Amari Cooper, and Justin Shorter could be that guy.
On Thursday, the Las Vegas Raiders were once again in the news, like they find themselves so often. Amari Cooper, the former Oakland Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, and Buffalo Bills receiver who had just signed with the team last week, retired. That leaves the Raiders with little to no time to replace him for the game against the New England Patriots on Sunday.
So, the Raiders signed Justin Shorter off the practice squad to the 53-man roster.
Raiders needed to replace Amari Cooper
This isn’t just a move that will last a week. Rather than a standard practice squad elevation, the Raiders signed Shorter to the 53-man, which means he has to spend at least three weeks on the 53-man before being sent back to the practice squad. And after Sunday, the Raiders could sign someone else, such as Odell Beckham Jr., or they may be content with Shorter.
So while Shorter seeing the practice squad isn’t something that will happen anytime soon, I wouldn’t rule out another signing, since the Raiders only have five on the roster, and now Cooper is gone. Cooper was supposed to be that WR3 or WR4 type of player, and a guy who could play while the two rookies got their feet under them. Just two years ago, he had 1,000 yards, and he joined the Bills midway through the season last year, so it was thought that he could still be a good football player. But Cooper may have realized that he just doesn’t have it anymore, physically or mentally.
As for Shorter, he fits the archetype that the Raiders need the most out of the guys they had available to them on the practice squad. If I had my pick, though, Shedrick Jackson would have been the guy. He showed the most in the preseason. However, Shorter played well, too.
Against the Seattle Seahawks, he only had two catches for 11 yards. Against the San Francisco 49ers, he didn’t have any catches, and against the Arizona Cardinals, he had one catch for 11 yards. But Shorter is a pretty good run blocker and will fit well in the Chip Kelly offense. It will be interesting to see how often, if at all, he gets on the field against the New England Patriots in Week 1.
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