Amari Cooper's Agent Has Had New Contract Discussions with Raiders

Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie said Friday he's held preliminary discussions about a contract extension with the representative for wide receiver Amari Cooper.    

Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk provided the GM's comments about Cooper, who's set to enter the final guaranteed year of his rookie contract. The team has yet to exercise the fifth-year option in the deal.

"We've been in contact with his agent," McKenzie said. "I don't want to put anything out there, don't want to put the cart before the horse so to speak, but we like Amari."

Cooper saw his production drop in 2017. He recorded 48 catches for 680 yards after tallying at least 70 catches and 1,000 yards in each of his first two NFL seasons. He did set a new career high with seven touchdowns, though.

Along with seeing additional attention from opposing defenses, he fought through a couple of ankle injuries and suffered a concussion last season.

In December, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said the defensive looks made it tougher to feed the ball to Cooper as much as in previous years, per Michael Wagaman of the Associated Press:

"When people cover Coop, they bracket him, they try and match him, they try and in-and-out him, they try a whole bunch of different things. When that doesn't happen, the attention goes to (Michael) Crabtree, the attention goes to Jared (Cook) depending on the defensive personnel that they have. They're able to roll coverages and make it hard for us."

The Raiders signed Jordy Nelson after the Green Bay Packers let him go in mid-March and released Crabtree, who signed with the Baltimore Ravens.

Cooper is still expected to serve as the team's top target. A return to form after Pro Football Focus ranked him as its No. 81 receiver last season is crucial to the offense's success.

Oakland may wait to see whether he bounces back before offering him a lucrative long-term contract, though.