NFL Trade Rumors
It’s been a quiet offseason for veteran WR Amari Cooper, with little chatter about his plans or teams interested in his services. There was some buzz about potentially returning to the Bills or Cowboys, but both teams ended up going in a different direction at the position this offseason. He’s not the only notable veteran receiver still waiting to sign with a team but it does stand out since he’s just a year away from a 1,000-yard season.
Last year was a tough one for Cooper. He did manage to secure a little bit of a contract concession from the Browns going into camp, as he was in the final year of his deal. But Cleveland’s struggles on offense had a major impact on his production. Cooper had 24 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns in six games before being traded to the Bills. His production didn’t improve in Buffalo, partially due to picking up a new system midstream, partially due to a wrist injury that he played through but left him as a decoy more often than not. His targets slipped from 53 in six games to 32 in eight.
While those circumstances would have hurt just about any receiver, it’s telling that the Bills didn’t move to bring Cooper back after trading a third-round pick to land him midseason. His soft market this offseason is another warning sign that the NFL could see the end of the road coming for Cooper. There’s a real chance the soft-spoken Cooper, with plenty of other interests outside the game of football, decides whatever low-cost offer he gets isn’t worth another year of punishment.
Still, there could be a team that needs a boost at receiver that believes Cooper still has more left in the tank. The age cliff can come fast for receivers past the age of 30, but there are plenty who continue to have productive seasons. We’ll see which camp Cooper falls into.
Cooper, 31, is a former No. 4 overall pick by the Raiders out of Alabama in the 2015 NFL Draft. The Raiders traded him to the Cowboys for a first-round pick midway through the 2018 season.
He played out the final year of his four-year, $22.7 million contract, as well as his fifth-year option which cost Dallas $13,924,000 for 2019. He was set to be an unrestricted free agent when he signed a five-year, $100 million contract with the Cowboys in 2020.
The Browns then acquired him, along with a sixth-round pick, via a trade with Dallas that saw the Cowboys receive a fifth and sixth-round pick.
In July of 2024, Cooper and the Browns agreed to a one-year restructured contract that guaranteed him $20 million and added an additional $5 million in incentives to his current deal. He was scheduled be an unrestricted free agent in 2025 when Cleveland traded him during the season to the Bills for a package including a third-round pick.
In 2024, Cooper appeared in six games for the Browns...
