Cooper in camp bigger, stronger

Amari Cooper is a man of few words, so his conditioning tips aren’t going to fill up a howto book.

“If you go to the gym every day, you are going to get stronger,” the Raiders receiver said Saturday in Napa.

Six years ago, as a high school senior, the 6-foot-1 Cooper weighed 183 pounds. At Saturday’s first training camp practice, he came in a rock-solid 217 pounds, up from 210 last season.

“I always get bigger in the offseason because I’m training,” he said. “Hopefully, it translates on to the field.”

In 2016, Cooper and Michael Crabtree became the third Raiders duo to each record 1,000 yards receiving in one season, and this year Cooper seems poised to be a bigger red-zone target.

“As a skill player on offense, you want the ball,” Cooper said. “Every play, if you can.”

Alumni weekend: The Raiders claimed running back George Atkinson III off waivers from the Browns. Atkinson, the son of legendary Oakland safety George Jr., has spent parts of three seasons with the Raiders and led them in rushing last preseason. His only ticket on the 53-man roster would seem to be on special-teams coverage. Briefly: Besides rookie cornerback Gareon Conley, guard/ backup center Jon Feliciano and defensive tackle Jihad Ward also started out camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Feliciano injured his knee during offseason workouts, and Ward had offseason foot surgery.