HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The lack of sleep and the early-morning flight from Dallas to Las Vegas followed by his first Raiders practice was taking its toll on Amari Cooper by the time late Tuesday afternoon rolled around.
But Cooper was also excited about the opportunity to prove he still is one of the NFL's top wide receivers as he rejoined the organization that drafted him fourth in 2015 out of Alabama.
At the time, the Raiders were based in Oakland, and only left tackle Kolton Miller remains from the roster of the teams for which Cooper played 3 1/2 seasons.
“I always had (a return) in the back of my mind because I was drafted here,” Cooper said. “I felt like the expectations were high, and I felt like I did OK. But I always knew you draft a guy in the top five, you really expect them to come and change the organization. I felt like at times I showed flashes of doing that, but it wasn’t to my expectations. So this time around, I feel like I have unfinished business.”
Cooper, who according to multiple reports signed a one-year contract, played for the Raiders until being traded to Dallas in October 2018 for a first-round pick. He has exceeded 1,000 receiving yards seven times, most recently two years ago for Cleveland, when Cooper had 72 catches for 1,250 yards and five touchdowns.
He had 44 catches for 547 yards and four TDs last season for the Browns and the Buffalo Bills.
“Trust me, I still have some juice left,” Cooper said. “I felt like this was the opportunity for me to show it.”
Where he will fit in the Raiders’ lineup remains to be seen, but if the 31-year-old does indeed have some juice remaining, Cooper could be at least the second-best wide receiver on the team.
Jakobi Meyers, rookie Dont’e Thornton and Tre Tucker were listed as the starters on the most recent depth chart. Meyers has requested a trade after failing to reach an agreement on a contract extension as he heads into the final season of a three-year, $33 million deal. The Raiders, however, are under no obligation to grant his wish.
Considering Meyers broke 1,000 yards last season for the first time in his six-year NFL career, he and Cooper could give the Raiders a powerful 1-2 combination. That is if he's the Amari Cooper of old, which he still has to prove.
Cooper said he will be good to go when the Raiders open their season on Sept. 7 at New England. He is learning to play with quarterback and fellow South Florida native Geno Smith and absorbing offensive coordinator Chip Kelly's playbook.
And he's back with the Raiders, for whom Cooper had 225 receptions for 3,183 yards and 19 touchdowns and made three Pro Bowls.
“It feels like a full-circle moment,” Cooper said. “I’m excited about the opportunity for sure. I’m ready to embrace it.”
Backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell was not placed on injured reserve after breaking his right wrist in Saturday’s preseason game at Arizona. O’Connell is expected to miss six to eight weeks, and he could still be put on IR.
The Raiders waived rookie quarterback Cam Miller, who was drafted in the sixth round out of North Dakota State. Miller could be signed to the practice squad. He was one of two players cut from this year’s draft. Fellow sixth-rounder Tommy Mellott of Montana State was let go after struggling with the transition from quarterback to wide receiver.
Other notable cuts to get the roster down to 53 players included safety Terrell Edmunds, running back Sincere McCormick and cornerback Greedy Vance.
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FILE - Buffalo Bills wide receiver Amari Cooper, right, is tackled by New York Jets cornerback D.J. Reed (4) during the first half of an NFL football game in Orchard Park, N.Y., Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus,File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday as tensions remained high with the United States over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.
The closure ran for over four hours, according to pilot guidance issued by Iran, which lies on a key East-West flight route. International carriers diverted north and south around Iran, but after one extension, the closure appeared to have expired and several domestic flights were in the air just after 7 a.m.
Around midday, Iranian state television carried a statement from the country's Civil Aviation Authority saying that the nation's “skies are hosting incoming and outgoing flights, and airports are providing services to passengers.” It did not acknowledge the closure.
Iran previously shut its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June and when it exchanged fire with Israel during the Israel-Hamas war. However, there were no signs of current hostilities though the closure immediately rippled through global aviation.
“Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” said the website SafeAirspace, which provides information on conflict areas and air travel. “The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defense, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic.”
Iran in the past has misidentified a commercial aircraft as a hostile target. In 2020, Iranian air defense shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people on board. Iran for days adamantly dismissed allegations of downing the plane as Western propaganda before finally acknowledging it.
The airspace closure came as some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” going to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on Iran at the request of the United States on Thursday afternoon.
U.S. President Donald Trump made a series of vague statements Wednesday that left unclear what American action, if any, would take place against Iran.
In comments to reporters, Trump said he had been told that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, without providing many details. The shift comes a day after Trump told protesters in Iran that “help is on the way” and that his administration would “act accordingly” to respond to the Islamic Republic’s deadly crackdown.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also sought to tone down the rhetoric, urging the U.S. to find a solution through negotiation.
Asked by Fox News what he would say to Trump, Araghchi said: “My message is: Between war and diplomacy, diplomacy is a better way, although we don’t have any positive experience from the United States. But still diplomacy is much better than war.”
The change in tone by the U.S. and Iran came hours after the chief of the Iranian judiciary said the government must act quickly to punish the thousands who have been detained.
Activists warned that hangings of detainees could come soon. The security forces’ crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Demonstrators burn a poster depicting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, in Holon, Israel Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A woman mourns next to the flag-draped coffins of a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, during their funeral ceremony, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man hands out posters of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a funeral ceremony for a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
People take part in a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, Berlin Germany, Wednesday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Policemen protect the British Embassy during a protest by hardline supporters of the Iranian government, as people ride on their motorbike in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
