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Marcus Cooper

Raiders Audition T.J. McDonald, Other DBs

September 12th, 2019 at 3:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

One of the many veterans the Dolphins either traded, released or let walk in free agency this year, T.J. McDonald has drawn interest from another AFC team. The Raiders put McDonald through a Thursday workout, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

McDonald and fellow defensive backs Kentrell Brice, Briean Boddy-Calhoun and Juston Burris participated in the audition. Additionally, Marcus Cooper and Coty Sensabaugh were part of this extensive audition, per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter).

The Raiders lost first-round safety Johnathan Abram to a severe shoulder injury, which is expected to end his rookie season after one game, and saw cornerback Gareon Conley stretchered off the field in a scary scene Monday. Conley, however, avoided a serious injury and may have a chance to play in Week 2.

A 28-year-old safety who came into the league with the 2013 Rams, McDonald has started all 75 games in which he’s played. This included 14 starts for the 2018 Dolphins. The Dolphins ate nearly $5MM in dead money by cutting McDonald in August.

The Buccaneers signed Brice in March but cut him earlier this month. Brice started 10 games at safety for the Packers last season. A three-year cornerback veteran, Boddy-Calhoun played in 43 games (22 starts) for the Browns from 2016-18. Burris suited up for 38 with the Jets and Browns from 2016-18. Sensabaugh and Cooper are much older, having begun their careers in 2012 and ’13, respectively. Sensabaugh started in 10 Steelers games last season; Cooper was buried on the Bears’ 2018 depth chart and didn’t see too much action later that season as a Lion.

Jets Reach 53-Man Max

August 31st, 2019 at 4:18pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets did more than just cut a 2019 third-round pick on Saturday, making nearly 40 moves to reach the Week 1 roster limit. Here’s the complete rundown of cut players:

Another spot was freed up when the Jets placed corner Austin Bless on the reserve/non-football injury list.

Jets Sign CB Marcus Cooper

August 13th, 2019 at 3:45pm CST by Zachary Links

So much for the Jets standing pat at cornerback. On Tuesday, the Jets signed veteran Marcus Cooper, per a team announcement.

Cooper was released on Tuesday by the Lions. The 29-year-old was a seventh-round of the 49ers in 2013 but has already played for four different NFL teams. In total, he has 74 appearances and seven interceptions to his credit.

This isn’t the major CB upgrade that Jets fans were hoping for this season, but it will provide the Jets with depth for however long Trumaine Johnson needs to recover from his hamstring injury. Currently, Darryl Roberts, Arthur Maulet, and Brian Poole stand as the Jets’ three best healthy corners.

Lions Release CB Marcus Cooper

August 12th, 2019 at 11:14am CST by Zachary Links

The Lions announced that cornerback Marcus Cooper has been released. To take his place, the club has signed fellow CB Jamar Summers. 

Cooper arrived in Detroit via waiver claim in November and re-signed with the team in March. He didn’t play much with the Bears early on in 2018, but he did suit up for four games with the Lions. The 29-year-old defender has made 28 starts in a six-season career, having intercepted seven passes. All of those picks came during his two most prominent years as a corner — 2013 in Kansas City and 2016 in Arizona.

Summers, meanwhile, was in the now-defunct AAF before a short stint with the Dolphins. He’ll now push to make the Lions’ 53-man cut.

Contract Details: Seahawks, Lions, Thorpe

March 29th, 2019 at 12:27pm CST by Zachary Links

A look at the details on recent deals from around the NFL:

  • Neiko Thorpe, DB (Seahawks): One-year, $1MM. $100K signing bonus $850K base (not guaranteed) (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson).
  • Tommylee Lewis, WR, (Lions): One-year, $720K base salary. $50K signing bonus. $920K cap hit (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein).
  • Logan Thomas, TE, (Lions): One-year, $805K base salary. $30K signing bonus. $735K cap hit.
  • Andrew Donnal, OL, (Lions): One-year, $805K base salary. $15K signing bonus. $685K cap hit.
  • Marcus Cooper, CB (Lions): One-year, $805K base salary. $150K guaranteed. $735K cap hit.

Lions To Re-Sign CB Marcus Cooper

March 16th, 2019 at 1:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

Having been cut midway through last season, Marcus Cooper changed NFC North allegiances recently. He will stay with his second 2018 team.

The Lions are re-signing Cooper, Adam Caplan of Sirius XM Radio tweets. The veteran cornerback arrived in Detroit via waiver claim in November and looks set to stay in the Motor City as a depth piece.

Cooper played just 39 snaps last season, being buried on Chicago’s depth chart. With Detroit, he figures to compete for time as a backup and contribute on special teams. With the 2017 Bears, Cooper started four games but was benched during that season. He was a full-time player with the 2016 Cardinals, leading to a mid-level Bears contract a year later.

The 29-year-old defender has made 28 starts in a six-season career, having intercepted seven passes. All of those picks came during his two most prominent years as a corner — 2013 in Kansas City and 2016 in Arizona. The Lions added Justin Coleman earlier this week but still have some uncertainty beyond he and Darius Slay, so it would not be surprising if more additions arrived later this offseason.

Lions Claim CB Marcus Cooper

November 22nd, 2018 at 4:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Marcus Cooper has not factored into the 2018 season much, but he’ll have a chance to make up for lost time with another NFC North team.

The Lions claimed the veteran cornerback off waivers from the Bears on Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). The claim will be deferred to Friday.

The Bears defeated the Lions in Thanksgiving’s early game, and Cooper will be set for a Chicago-to-Detroit flight soon as well.

He’s played just three snaps this season for the division-leading Bears. A hamstring injury’s intervened, but the Lions are presumably viewing the 28-year-old corner as a better bet to see snaps than the Bears did this year.

Having recently picked up cornerback/special-teamer Don Carey, the Lions may be set to make another move at corner Friday. They have six on the roster prior to Cooper’s arrival. The former Chiefs and Cardinals defender signed a one-year, $1.5MM deal to return to Chicago this year, doing so shortly after the team cut bait on the three-year, $13.5MM pact agreed to in 2017.

Bears To Promote QB Tyler Bray, Cut CB Marcus Cooper

November 21st, 2018 at 3:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Marcus Cooper‘s second Bears season did not feature much work. The veteran cornerback logged just three defensive snaps in 2018, and his time with Chicago may be ending.

The Bears, who are facing the prospect of being without Mitch Trubisky for their Thanksgiving Day game against the Lions, promoted quarterback Tyler Bray from their practice squad, Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune tweets.

Trubisky was sore this morning and didn’t have as much shoulder movement as he expected to, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets, adding it’s likely Chase Daniel will start in Detroit. This would be Daniel’s first start with the Bears. He did see action in blowout wins over the Buccaneers and Bills, however. Trubisky is listed as doubtful, pointing to a Daniel start in a key game for the NFC North-leading Bears.

Chicago may well have the quarterback depth chart the Chiefs once did behind Alex Smith for a three-year stretch earlier this decade. Both Daniel and Bray were Kansas City backups during a few of Matt Nagy‘s seasons in Kansas City. Despite being a 2013 UDFA, Bray — a Tennessee product — has only thrown one pass in a game. He signed with the Bears this offseason.

Cooper re-signed with the Bears on a one-year, $1.5MM deal this year as well. He started in four games and played in 15 last season, making 30 tackles. The 28-year-old corner missed time this year with a hamstring injury but has been buried on Chicago’s depth chart. He will head to waivers.

Bears Re-Sign CB Marcus Cooper To 1-Year Deal

March 23rd, 2018 at 10:06pm CST by Ryan Posner

The Bears are bringing back free-agent cornerback Marcus Cooper with a one-year, $2.5MM deal, according to Adam Caplan (on Twitter). Cooper had a visit on Friday with the Cardinals, who agreed to a one-year deal with cornerback Bene Benwikere, but they were still reported to have interest.

Cooper appeared in 15 games last season for the Bears, making four starts. His most extensive playing time came with the Cardinals in 2016 when he played in 15 games (13 starts) and collected four interceptions. The metrics were not kind to him that season, though, as he ranked No. 62 among 84 qualifiers in Football Outsiders‘ success rate.

Chicago signed Cooper to a three-year, $16MM deal following his 2016 campaign with the Cardinals but released him last week. He played on just a quarter of the Bears’ defensive snaps last season, ranking fourth out of the team’s cornerbacks.

The Bears have made their secondary a priority this offseason, placing their transition tag on Kyle Fuller and re-signing Prince Amukamara. Cooper is set to work with the likes of Bryce Callahan and recently-signed Sherrick McManis as backups to Fuller and Amukamara.

The 49ers drafted Cooper in the seventh round of the 2013 draft out of Rutgers. He never suited up for the 49ers, though, and spent three seasons with the Chiefs before landing with the Cardinals in 2016.

Cardinals To Host CB Marcus Cooper

March 23rd, 2018 at 9:30am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Cardinals will host free agent cornerback Marcus Cooper on Friday, as first reported by John Gambadoro of ArizonaSports.com (Twitter link).

Cooper should be familiar to Arizona management after spending the 2016 campaign in the desert. That season still marks the 28-year-old Cooper’s only season as a full-time starter, as he lined up opposite Patrick Peterson for 13 games. While saw 83% playtime, Cooper wasn’t all that successful, as he ranked just 62nd among 84 qualifiers in Football Outsiders‘ success rate.

Despite that lackluster performance, Cooper garnered a three-year, $16MM deal from the Bears last spring. Expected to be a starter, Cooper only played on a quarter of Chicago’s defensive snaps (fourth-most among Bears CBs), collecting 15 tackles and three passes defensed during that time. He was released last week, and hasn’t generated any other known interest at this point.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, are (once again) in need of a corner to play next to Peterson, as veteran Tramon Williams — who played exceedingly well in 2017 — signed a two-year deal with the Packers on Thursday. Justin Bethel, and C.J. Goodwin are both unrestricted free agents, leaving former third-rounder Brandon Williams, who played just a single defensive snap last year, as Arizona’s projected No. 2 cornerback.

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