Terrance Terrel Copper (born March 12, 1982) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver in the

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(NFL) for the

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

and

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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

Early years

Copper was a 2000 graduate of Washington High School. He finished as the school's career-leader in receptions (159) and receiving yards (2,826). He also had 27

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s. He was a three-time all-conference and all-area selection and set season records with 55 receptions in 1997 and 697 receiving yards in 1999. As a freshman, he had 25 catches for 402 yards and three scores. As a sophomore, he set school records with 55 grabs for 1,000 yards, including 4 touchdowns. As a junior, 38 catches for 683 yards and seven touchdowns. In his last year, he registered 41 receptions for 741 yards and 13 touchdowns. He earned honorable-mention All-American honors from ''

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''. Copper was also selected to play in the Shrine Bowl and East/West All-Star game his senior season.

College career

Copper accepted a football scholarship from

. As a true freshman, he played in 11 games (2 starts), making 9 receptions for 187 yards, one touchdown and averaged 22.8 yards on 4 kickoff returns. As a sophomore, he started the first 4 games at the H-back position with the departure of Keith Stokes and had

David Garrard David Douglas Garrard (born February 14, 1978) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons, primarily with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He played college football at East Carolina and wa ...

as the team's

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. He collected 13 receptions for 124 yards, 9 carries for 49 yards, one touchdown and returned 10 punts for 70 yards. As a junior, he started 9 out of 12 games, registering 30 receptions for 395 yards and returned 30 punts for 328 yards. As a senior in 2003, he led

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

with 87 receptions (school record). He also had 897 receiving yards (school record), two touchdowns and returned 27 punts for 124 yards. He became the first player in school history to receive All-Conference USA honors. He finished his college career without missing a game, while registering 139 receptions (second in school history), 1,683 receiving yards (fourth in school history), 3 receiving touchdowns, 211 yards on nine kickoff returns (23.4 avg), 522 yards on 67 punt returns (7.8 avg) and 72 rushing yards and one touchdowns on 16 carries (4.5 avg). In 2013, he was named to the school's All-Time Offensive Team.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Copper was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

by the

after the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

on April 30. He was released on September 5 and signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on September 6. He was promoted to the active roster on October 4. As a rookie, he played in 10 games and made seven receptions for 84 yards, but his main contribution came 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 ...

, where he had 14

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

(fifth on the team) and returned 16 kickoffs for 307 yards (19.2 avg.). In

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, he appeared in all 16 games, playing primarily on

, he totaled 11

tackles (fifth on the team) and 2

kickoff return A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in gridiron football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team". The receiving team is then entitled to ''return ...

s for 32 yards. He was released on September 2,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

New Orleans Saints

On September 3,

, he was claimed by the

, reuniting him with new head coach and former Cowboys offensive coordinator

Sean Payton Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; anglici ...

. He played in 15 games (four starts) and started his first

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game against the

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on November 5. The next week, he started against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, registering a career-high six receptions for 92 yards. He caught a 48-yard

Hail Mary pass A Hail Mary pass is a very long forward pass in American football, typically made in desperation, with an exceptionally small chance of achieving a completion. Due to the difficulty of a completion with this pass, it makes reference to the Catho ...

against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

on November 26. He finished with 23 receptions for 385 yards, 3 touchdowns and 3

tackles. In

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, he had 11

tackles. On October 14,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, he was released after the team signed

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 ...

Jeff Charleston. He was re-signed four days later when

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

Montavious Stanley Montavious Stanley (born October 10, 1981) is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints. He played college football at the Univ ...

was placed on

injured reserve 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 th ...

. He was cut again on October 26, to activate suspended

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

Jamar Nesbit Jamar Kendric Nesbit (born December 17, 1976) is a former American football guard. He was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 1999. He played college football at the University of South Carolina. Nesbit has also played ...

Baltimore Ravens

On October 29,

, he was signed by the

after wide receiver Demetrius Williams 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 th ...

. He appeared in 2 games and was declared inactive in 7 contests.

Kansas City Chiefs

On March 17,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, he signed with the

. He was second on the team with 16

tackles. He was re-signed on March 7,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. In the 2011 season, he had a catch drought that started after he had one reception in Week 5 against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

and ended in Week 13 against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. In week 16 against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

, he played an important role catching three passes for 61 yards (including a 43-yard gain). He finished the season with 8 receptions for 114 yards. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, he appeared in 15 games and was placed on the

on December 29. He was released on August 25,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Copper, Terrance 1982 births Living people People from Washington, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina American football wide receivers East Carolina Pirates football players Dallas Cowboys players New Orleans Saints players Baltimore Ravens players Kansas City Chiefs players