Earlier Wednesday, in our NFL nation buzz video, we wondered if prized rookie receiver Amari Cooper could actually be in the mix for the Oakland Raiders’ return duties.
Later Wednesday, Oakland special-teams coach Brad Seely said Cooper, the No. 4 overall draft pick who is expected to be the Raiders’ No. 1 receiver immediately, could be in the mix. The Raiders are looking for a returner now that seventh-round pick Andre Debose is on injured reserve with an Achilles injury he recently suffered. He was expected to be a favorite for the job.
This is what Seely said about the current race: “I think you can go back to guys that have been here. Latavius [Murray] has done a nice job, he’s got some experience back there. TJ Carrie has done a nice job. We were really hopeful for Andre Debose. Unfortunately, he got injured. So those are guys that stand out right now.
"We brought in the young guy from LSU [Trindon Holliday] that, you know, he’s got talent, has been talented here in the past in the NFL. So we’re giving him an opportunity, too. Amari Cooper is another guy we’re working back there. It depends on, you know, what exactly his role is on this football team if he’s going to do some of that stuff, because he could because he’s got a lot of talent. At this time of the year, you’re really just trying to evaluate as many guys as you can.”
Cooper was practicing returns in the OTA session, but it would take a lot of guts for the Raiders to risk injury once the regular season starts by putting the dynamic receiver on returns. However, it is not unusual for standout receivers to also return kicks. Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown led the NFL in receiving and he returned punts. Other receivers who had several returns in 2014 included New England’s Julian Edelman and Miami’s Jarvis Landry.
In 2007 and 2008, Seely was the special-teams coach in New England. Receiver Wes Welker had 100-plus catches in both seasons and he also returned several punts each year. Seely acknowledged it’s risky to have a standout skill-position player (Murray is in line to be the starting tailback and he could be in the same situation as Cooper) back as a returner.
“We’ll always do and always have done is, ‘Hey, here’s what the guy can do for us,’ and you’ve got to weigh what that does for you. Is he that kind of player that can change a game in that aspect for you? What we’re trying to do every Sunday is what we can do to win the game,” Seely said. “If the guy is fantastically talented at one thing that he can help you win the football game, you’ve got to look at it. Then you’ve got to be smart as well.”
The Oakland return job mix will surely be something to watch in training camp.
In other notes from the second day of Oakland’s mandatory minicamp:
Starting safety Nate Allen was a spectator for an undisclosed reason, and Carrie wasn’t doing much, either.
Seely said ideally punter Marquette King will be the team’s holder. King was the holder to start last season, but he was replaced by backup quarterback Matt Schaub. Schaub is no longer on the team.
Oakland free-agent tight end David Ausberry signed with Detroit. The Raiders had no interest in bringing back the oft-injured Ausberry.
