The Las Vegas Raiders were dealt some surprising news when Amari Cooper informed the team that he is retiring from the NFL. He was with them for just a week.

The team brought in Cooper because they needed another proven veteran in their wide receiver room. However, with just days before the start of the regular season, the Raiders will have to go back to the drawing board.

That said, the team might not be missing out on much. According to The Athletic’s Tashan Reed, Cooper didn’t look great in practice before making the decision.

“In theory, Cooper would’ve provided some veteran insurance to the room,” Reed wrote. “According to a team sources, however, Cooper was unimpressive in practice and didn’t have the look of a difference maker.

“Now that Cooper is retired, the Raiders are going to be searching for answers once again. Given none of the three receivers on the practice squad — Alex Bachman, Shedrick Jackson and Justin Shorter — have been proven to be difference makers, either, they’ll need to go outside in order to find one.”

Chip Kelly Was a Fan of Cooper

While Raiders sources leaked that Cooper wasn’t looking great, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly was liking what he was seeing.

“He’s a talented player, now,” Kelly said in his Thursday press conference. “But he called Pete [Carroll] this morning, had a good conversation with Pete, and I think he’s just done playing. But you could still see the talent was there.

“[W]e hadn’t had any discussions [about Cooper’s playing time],” Kelly added. “We said we’re going to go through Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and then we’d determine who was up and who was down.

So, it’s unfortunate because I think the world of him. I think he’s a heck of a football player, he’s had a heck of a career.

But he knows in his heart what he wants to do, so I wish him the best. I’ve always been a big fan of his.”

Geno Smith’s Presence Will Help Raiders

Luckily for the Raiders, they have a veteran quarterback in Geno Smith. According to Kelly, that should make rolling with a lot of young wide receivers much easier.

“[H]aving a veteran quarterback, I think if you had maybe a bunch of young wideouts and a young guy pulling the trigger, you’ve got a rookie at the running back spot, that’s a little bit different,” Kelly said.

“But I think the fact that Geno’s there, that Jakobi’s there, Jakobi [Meyers has] got a lot of reps. And then there’s a lot of experience at the tight end spot.

“So, we feel pretty good about some positions, but the other guys, that’s what this league is — there’s going to be certain spots where no one’s totally set in their depth at every position and got veterans playing everywhere.

It just doesn’t happen that way. Some positions, you feel really good about.

Other ones, you feel good, but you’re not sure until you get them in a game. So, that’s what I’m excited about — those young guys going to go play a game.”