A newly stitched No. 19 jersey accompanied Amari Cooper’s first appearance as a Raider. It was a prop at his introductory press conference, but this year’s first-round draft pick never actually put it on.
He switched to No. 89 before his first professional practice, shortly after the number become available with James Jones’ release.
“I just thought it looked better on me,” Cooper said following Friday’s rookie minicamp practice.
No. 89, and no. 19 for that matter, pays homage to the No. 9 Cooper wore during college.
The rest of the Raiders draft class was assigned numbers to start the offseason program.