Former Bills' WR Amari Cooper signs free-agent contract with AFC rival

After an underwhelming half-season with the Buffalo Bills in 2024, Amari Cooper is returning to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Dec 22, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Amari Cooper (18) stiff arms New England Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss (53) in the second quarter at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Amari Cooper is back where he started. Meaning, in part, he's a long way from the Buffalo Bills.

It was just last October that the Bills traded a third-round draft choice to the Cleveland Browns, thinking the veteran receiver might be the final piece to a long playoff run. But as he's been in all of his four NFL stops, Cooper was underwhelming and, ultimately, expendable.

MORE: Buffalo Bills listed among best fits for Pro Bowl wide receiver ahead of cutdown day

Cooper, 31, signed a free-agent contract on Monday with the Las Vegas Raiders, the team that originally drafted him fourth overall in 2015.

Reunion: Former #Bills WR Amari Cooper, one of the NFL’s top free agents still available, is signing with the #Raiders on a 1-year deal, per source.

Some late, big-time pass-catching help for the team that once drafted him in the first round. pic.twitter.com/pWCjmWzCmv

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 25, 2025

His debut in Buffalo was dazzling, catching four passes for 66 yards and a touchdown in a 34-10 win over the Tennessee Titans. But then he missed two games with a wrist injury and never became a viable weapon for Josh Allen. Cooper played in only eight games for the Bills, catching 20 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns.

Oct 6, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders cornerback Benjamin St-Juste (25) breaks up a pass intended for Cleveland Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper (2) during the second quarter at NorthWest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images | Peter Casey-Imagn Images

In the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in last season's AFC Championship Game, Cooper caught four passes for 33 yards.

The Bills could have brought Cooper back on a "prove it" one-year contract, but opted to go with younger receivers such as Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer and rising new star Tyrell Shavers.

MORE: Bills' local insider offers bold prediction, but will Keon Coleman deliver?

Cooper made five Pro Bowls, most recently with the Browns in 2023. After three-plus seasons with the Raiders, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys, who then traded him to the Brown, who finally traded him to the Bills. He'll always be known as a smooth route-runner who lacks intensity. The Cowboys decided to part ways with him after he failed to block downfield on consecutive running plays in a 2021 playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Jan 16, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (4) wraps up Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper (19) during the second half of the NFC Wild Card playoff football game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

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