Christopher Lyle Cooper (born December 27, 1977) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

. He also was a member of the California Redwoods in the United Football League (UFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Nebraska–Omaha Mavericks The Omaha Mavericks are the sports teams of the University of Nebraska Omaha. They participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Summit League, except in ice hockey, where they compete ...

Early life

Cooper attended

Lincoln Southeast High School Lincoln Southeast High School is a public high school located in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Lincoln Public Schools district. Lincoln Southeast High School has the highest accreditation from the Nebraska Department ...

. He received All-state honors at

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

and

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

as a senior. He also practiced

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, playing at

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

College career

He accepted a football scholarship from Division II

University of Nebraska-Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was origin ...

, where he became a four-year starter at

. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

freshman, he registered 21 tackles, 6 tackles for loss and 4 sacks. As a sophomore, he tallied 29 tackles, 10 tackles for loss (second on the team) and 7 sacks (led the team). As a junior, he had 45 tackles and 9 sacks (led the team). As a senior, he posted 44 tackles (fourth on the team), 20 tackles for loss (led the team), 11 sacks (led the team), 5 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles and 4 fumble recoveries. He set school records for career sacks (31) and tackles for loss (53).

Pre-draft

Professional career

Cooper was selected by the

in the sixth round (184th overall) of the

2001 NFL draft The 2001 NFL draft was the 66th draft annual of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at the Th ...

. He appeared in 11 games with one start, while posting 22 tackles, 2 sacks and one interception. He had 6 tackles and one sack against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. He had 5 tackles and one sack against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

. In

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, he appeared in 16 games with one start, while collecting 19 tackles one sack, one pass defensed and one forced fumble. He had 3 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. He made 3 defensive tackles and also played on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

in the AFC Divisional playoff game against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. He had 3 defensive tackles in the AFC Championship game against the

. He had 3 defensive tackles in

Super Bowl XXXVII Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

. In

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, he appeared in 16 games with 9 starts, while recording 49 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3 passes defensed, one forced fumble and 3 fumble recoveries. He had 4 tackles against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. He made 4 tackles against the

. He had 5 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. He made 3 tackles, one sack and one pass defensed against the

. He had 7 tackles against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. He made 6 tackles and a half-sack against the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

. In November, he was one of four Raider players (

Bill Romanowski William Thomas Romanowski (born April 2, 1966) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Romo" and "RomoCop", he spent the majority of his career wit ...

Barret Robbins Barret Glenn Robbins (born August 26, 1973) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a center (American football), center for nine seasons with the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Afte ...

and

Dana Stubblefield Dana William Stubblefield (born November 14, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kansas Jayhawks. Early life After gradua ...

) implicated in the

BALCO scandal The BALCO scandal was a scandal involving the use of banned performance-enhancing substances by professional athletes. The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) was a San Francisco Bay Area business which supplied anabolic steroids to profes ...

. All four were notified by the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

after testing positive for the designer steroid

tetrahydrogestrinone Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), known by the nickname The Clear, is a synthetic and orally active anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS) which was never marketed for medical use. It was developed by Patrick Arnold and was used by a number of high-profi ...

(THG), but he was not suspended, because the league was unaware of the steroid at the time of the original tests. On September 11,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, he was traded to the

in exchange for a conditional draft choice (not exercised). He appeared in 2 games as a backup and was declared inactive in 5 contests. He was waived on November 3. On November 10,

, he was signed by the

. He appeared in 8 games with 2 starts. He made 3 tackles and one sack against the

. He had 7 tackles against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. He finished the season with 16 tackles and one sack. On August 23,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, he was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

with a shoulder injury. He was released on February 23. On May 8,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, he was signed by the

. He was declared inactive in the first 2 games. On September 22,

, he was released to make room for the acquired wide receiver

Deion Branch Anthony Deion Branch Jr. (born July 18, 1979) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He is the current Wide Receivers coach at the University of Louisv ...

. On September 26,

, he was signed by the

. He had 23 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 passes defensed and one fumble recovery as a backup. In 2007, he appeared in 12 games (declared inactive 4 contests) as a backup

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

in the team's 3-4 defense, tallying 6 tackles. He was released on February 21,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. On March 25,

, he signed with the

. He was lost for the season and placed on the

on August 30. In

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, he signed with the California Redwoods in the United Football League. On April 6,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

. He was released on September 4. He finished his career with 134 tackles, 8.5 sacks, one interception, 8 passes defensed and 4 forced fumbles.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Professional StatsCalifornia Redwoods bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Chris 1977 births Living people Players of American football from Lincoln, Nebraska American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Nebraska–Omaha Mavericks football players Oakland Raiders players Dallas Cowboys players San Francisco 49ers players Seattle Seahawks players Arizona Cardinals players Sacramento Mountain Lions players Doping cases in American football