Amari Cooper says Mark Davis, not Jon Gruden, wanted to trade him

The day in October that Amari Cooper was traded by the Raiders to the Cowboys, we were led to believe that the decision was made by then-GM Reggie McKenzie and head coach Jon Gruden.

But now, it appears that owner Mark Davis was the driving force behind the Cooper trade.

According to The Athletic's Calvin Watkins, Cooper said on Thursday that Davis, not Gruden, wanted to trade him.

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Cooper also revealed to Watkins that the Raiders kept rejecting offers of a 2020 first-round pick. The team was only interested in a 2019 first-round pick.

Had an interesting talk with Amari Cooper today. He said Raiders owner Mark Davis wanted to make the trade and not Jon Gruden. Teams were offering a 2020 first rounder and the Raiders were turning that down until the Cowboys came calling.
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) December 13, 2018

McKenzie said on Oct. 23 that Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones called and offered a 2019 first-round pick. That's when McKenzie walked out to the practice field, relayed the offer on the table to Gruden and the head coach approved the deal with a thumbs up.

Cooper's assertion that Davis pulled the strings on his trade falls in line with Gruden comments on Monday following the firing of McKenzie. Gruden revealed that Davis met with McKenzie after the Raiders' win over the Steelers to deliver the news of his fate.