The Buffalo Bills and general manager Brandon Beane made a splash on Tuesday when the team announced they traded for wide receiver Amari Cooper from the Cleveland Browns.
The news came less than 24 hours after the Bills beat the New York Jets on Monday Night Football, 23-20. But, one thing that was evident in the Bills win (and for a good portion of the season) was the lack of a true boundary receiver.
Cooper solves that problem for the Bills. They now have a legit number-one option on the outside which can open up the offense.
This year in Cleveland, Cooper was a part of a terrible Browns offense. Through six weeks the Browns rank dead last in the NFL in offensive yards per game, 30th in points per game, and 30th in passing yards per game.
To make things worse, Cooper ranks second in the entire NFL in uncatchable target rate. A whopping 40% of his targets in Cleveland were deemed uncatchable. On an offense led by former Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and quarterback Deshuan Watson, Cooper couldn’t get going.
Following the trade, Cooper made this post on Instagram:
https://x.com/agetzenberg/status/1846289070890123479
“Move or rust” is pretty self-explanatory from the 30-year-old out of the University of Alabama. If you don’t use something properly, it will sit around and rust. The Bills are giving Cooper a chance to avoid rusting and continue to shine as a wide receiver like he has in his career so far.
In his ten-year career, he’s reached 1,000 receiving yards in six of them and has made five Pro Bowls. Pairing up with Josh Allen and the Bills at this point in Cooper’s career has him thrilled about the possibilities.
In his introductory press conference on Wednesday, Cooper had praise for Allen and the winning culture in Buffalo:
“As far as the way he plays, it’s phenomenal,” Cooper said about Allen. “He plays with a lot of grit, a lot of hustle. He plays hard. He’s been one of the top quarterbacks in the game for a while now. Just to play with him and be able to experience that in person I think is gonna be real cool.”
“The goal of playing in the NFL is to win,” he continued. “To [be able to] come in and be on a winning team is a good feeling.”
Cooper goes from the 1-5 Browns sitting at the bottom of the AFC North to the 4-2 Bills who lead the AFC East.
Cooper’s first chance to suit up in his new number 18 Bills jersey will come this Sunday against the Tennessee Titans at home.