Bob McManaman | The Republic | azcentral.com

On Wednesday, Pharoh Cooper was in meetings and film study with the Rams preparing to face the Cardinals. On Thursday, he found himself in Arizona doing the same thing as the newest member of the Cardinals preparing to face the Rams.

Yeah, the last 48 hours have been a little weird for the third-year wide receiver and kick returner extraordinaire.

“It is. I didn’t know I was coming to Arizona until the next morning and I realized we were playing them this Sunday here,” Cooper said after his first day on the job with his new team. “It’s going to be great to see all those guys. That’s still family over there, but at the end of the day, I play for the Cardinals now. This is the team that I’m on and this is the team I’m going to compete for.”

That Cooper was even available to claim off waivers is a bit surprising. Just last season, he was named All-Pro and selected to the Pro Bowl after leading the NFL in combined return yards (1,331), having finished with 932 kick return yards for a 27.4-yard average and 399 punt return yards for a 12.5-yard average.

With the Rams having relied mostly on the big three tandem of Brandon Cooks, Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp, there weren’t a lot of opportunities for Cooper in the regular offense as a wide receiver. The Rams kept telling him his time would come, but when running backs Todd Gurley (knee) and Justin Davis (shoulder) both hit the injury report this week, the team needed to add a running back for insurance purposes.

So in came veteran halfback C.J. Anderson and out went Cooper.

“They said it was a numbers thing and I had to go,” Cooper said. “No way did I see myself being released because of those two injuries, but that’s the business we’re in and that’s what it came down to.”

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According to reports, there were anywhere from four to seven NFL teams that put a waiver claim in on Cooper, a fourth-round pick out of South Carolina in 2016. By virtue of having the league’s worst record at 3-11, the Cardinals had first dibs and were awarded the claim and with it, may have just upgraded their receiving corps heading into the offseason.

“They’re getting a great competitor, a tough football player,” Rams coach Sean McVay told Arizona reporters during a conference call. “He has great instincts when the ball is in his hands. He’s a hard worker. We think the world of him here. Really, it wasn’t anything that Pharoh didn’t do. It was more a result of just a numbers deal where two of our three running backs on the active roster were banged up, and we had to create a spot. That’s really a big added bonus, and I wish him nothing but the best.”

That’s what Cooper is hoping for now that’s he joined a younger receiving room ripe with potential job security. The only wideout sure to be back next season is rookie Christian Kirk, who is finishing this season on injured reserve as he continues to recover from a broken foot. Larry Fitzgerald hasn’t said whether he’s returning for another season and the future doesn’t look bright here for J.J. Nelson and Chad Williams.

He was busy all day Thursday trying to soak up as much of the Cardinals’ offense and specifics of their return game in hopes of being active and ready to contribute against the Rams on Sunday in Arizona’s final home game of the season at State Farm Stadium.

“I’m going to have to soak up a lot,” Cooper said, smiling. “The receiver coaches are teaching me little by little, step by step. This was my first day so I’m still trying to learn formations, positions, personnel. It’s a lot different from LA, so I’m going to use some extra down time to try and figure out stuff.”

It won’t take long to get him up to speed as a punt and kickoff returner, his says. He can tell on film and on paper where his blockers will be and from there, he said, “It’s just catching and running and making a play with the ball in your hands.”

That’s where Cooper has excelled thus far in the NFL, but what he’s looking for is an honest chance to do the same thing as a receiver. Once he has the ball and finds time and space, he’s an electrifying runner and an elusive playmaker.

“That’s kind of the reason why I was excited (about joining the Cardinals),” he said. “At first when I got the news, I was mad. I was upset. I was like, ‘Why is this happening?’ But when I got the call, I was excited to go somewhere else to showcase my skills, so I think that’s a positive. … A lot of people, they see me and they label me as a returner. They say, ‘Pharoh Cooper, he’s just a returner. He has no film’ and stuff like that. I just need to prove myself that I can play receiver, which I know I can.

“This could be a blessing in disguise. This could be a fresh start for my career, after this season going into OTAs and actually competing to get a starting role. It’s going to be fun and I’m looking forward to it. … Learning from Larry Fitz, getting to learn from him these next two games and maybe the offseason, that’ll be great. Like I said, it’s also a chance to compete, try to go out there and get a spot. That’s what it’s all about, competing.”

The flipside, of course, is that he’s going from a Super Bowl contender to a last-place team on track to end up with the No.1 overall pick in next year’s draft.

“It’s different, for sure. It’s a lot different,” Cooper said. “With the Rams my rookie year, we finished the year like 3-13 (actually 4-12) and in the second year, we came back. We were in a rebuilding stage with a first-year coach. Obviously, Arizona is in a rebuilding stage with a first-year coach, a new coaching staff.

“I kind of look at it the same way, as a positive. Everybody’s competing and you’ve just got to go out there and make plays when your number’s called.”

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