Following another frustrating Oakland Raiders loss - this time a 27-3 defeat at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks - head coach Jon Gruden was quick to shut down trade rumors surrounding wide receiver Amari Cooper.
Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reported that the Raiders were shopping the 24-year-old Cooper and safety Karl Joseph. But when asked by reporters after the game if Cooper - who left Sunday's game a concussion - was being shopped, Gruden denied it.
"I don't know. I haven't heard that. I'm just sorry to have to deal with a lot of these reports," Gruden said, per Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I just hope Amari is OK. Like I said, he's going to be a big part of our pass offense, and we'll see what happens here. Hopefully he's all right."
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The Raiders traded star pass rusher and 2016 Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears for four draft picks - including a pair of first-rounders. Gruden made it clear that nobody is untouchable on this roster, and he's obviously not going to admit right now that Cooper is on the trade block, so it's the star wideout does get traded before the deadline.
The two-time Pro Bowler registered 1,000-yard seasons in both 2015 and '16, he's gotten off to a slow start in 2018. Cooper has just 22 receptions for 280 yards and one touchdown through the first six games of 2018, though the struggles of quarterback Derek Carr can warrant some of the blame.
Oakland gave Gruden a 10-year, $100 million contract to come out of the Monday Night Football broadcast booth and get back into coaching. This rebuilding project will definitely take some time, and Raider fans have no choice but to trust the Super Bowl 37-winning head coach as he tries to bring them back to relevance.
The Raiders sit at 1-5 and should probably start thinking about the deadline and draft, rather than a potential playoff berth. 2018 just isn't meant to be the year where they return to the postseason.