Amari Cooper set two Browns receiving records in his 2-plus years with the team. Now he's gone -- traded for the third time in his career.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Have the Browns begun the tanking process?
Or should we say, the rebuilding process?
In any case, Amari Cooper was granted his unspoken desire to be traded to a contender – which the Browns certainly are not.
The Browns swapped Cooper and a 2025 sixth-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for a third-round pick in 2025 and a seventh-rounder in 2026.
So GM Andrew Berry got more for Cooper than he paid for him. Berry acquired Cooper from Dallas in 2022 for fifth- and sixth-round picks.
The Bills paid a premium for Cooper because they were desperate to provide quarterback Josh Allen a No. 1 target missing since they traded Stefon Diggs to Houston before the season. Cooper moves to the head of Buffalo’s receiver line in front of rookie Keon Coleman and slot receiver Khalil Shakir.
Also, Cooper’s minimal base salary, which came as a result of the Browns converting most of the money owed in his final contract year into a cash bonus, made him an attractive get for a contender.
Berry has steadily tried to build a draft pick war chest for 2025 after surrendering three first-round draft picks – and three others over three years – in the fateful Deshaun Watson trade.
As the Browns sink into oblivion – they’re 1-5 with home dates against Cincinnati, Baltimore and the Chargers before their bye week -- Berry knows he’ll need to replace expensive veterans with younger draft picks in 2025.
The organization also must contemplate finding their next quarterback in the draft. The Browns place as the No. 4 spot in the draft order with 11 games to play.
Berry now has seven picks in the 2025 draft. They are:
* Their own selections in Rounds 1-4, 6.
* Chicago’s pick in Round 6.
* Minnesota’s pick in Round 6.
Berry and Cooper reached the conclusion this would be his final year with the Browns when they didn't come close to agreeing to a multi-year contract in the offseason.
Cooper ended a holdout during OTAs and minicamp when Berry converted his $20 million salary to a $18.8 million cash bonus and added $5 million in now-unreachable incentives.
At the same time, however, Berry was trying to trade Cooper to San Francisco in a package to land receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who was five years younger than Cooper. When Aiyuk declined to accept the trade, Cooper became a lame duck. And then his play worsened.
Last year Cooper became the first Browns receiver to record consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. Almost 40% of his receiving yards in 2023 came in four games with emergency quarterback Joe Flacco flinging him the ball. Cooper shattered a Browns single-game record with 265 yards receiving in Game 17 in Houston. He suffered a heel injury on the last of his 11 catches, however, and was a nonentity in the wild-card loss in Houston two weeks later.
When this Browns season began with Flacco in Indianapolis and Watson back at quarterback, Cooper looked like his heart wasn’t in it.
Cooper unofficially leads the NFL with nine dropped passes. Two of them would have been touchdowns and a third caromed off his chest and was intercepted. Cooper also had a costly and unusual face mask penalty in Sunday’s 20-16 loss in Philadelphia.
In a statement confirming the trade, Berry said, “We appreciate Amari’s hard work, professionalism and on-field contributions throughout his two-plus seasons with us. He created many memorable moments with us and was an integral part of our 2023 playoff team. We wish him the best in Baffalo as he continues his NFL career.”
The NFL trade deadline is November 5. We’ll see if Berry unloads more high-priced players before then.