The Buffalo Bills acquired Amari Cooper in a trade Tuesday with the Cleveland Browns, adding a true No. 1 wide receiver for star quarterback Josh Allen.
The Bills received Cooper and a 2025 sixth-round draft pick for a 2025 third-round pick and a seventh-round selection in 2026.
Cooper, 30, fills the No. 1 receiver void for the Bills that was opened when Buffalo traded Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans before the season.
The Bills completed the deal hours after their AFC East rivals, the New York Jets, made their own blockbuster trade for a wide receiver when they acquired Davante Adams from the Las Vegas Raiders.
In recent weeks, the Browns had fielded multiple offers on Cooper, who is in the final season of a five-year deal he originally signed as a member of the Dallas Cowboys. The fact that Cleveland converted the majority of Cooper’s $20 million base salary into a signing bonus made him more attractive as a trade candidate.
After recording a career-high 1,250 receiving yards in 2023, Cooper has struggled along with a Browns offense that has failed to score 20 points in each of its first six games. Cooper leads Cleveland with 250 receiving yards and two touchdowns but his 4.7 yards per target ranks second worst in the NFL among qualifying pass-catchers. His three drops are also tied for the sixth-most in the league.
“We appreciate Amari’s hard work, professionalism and on-field contributions throughout his two plus seasons with us,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry said in a statement. “He created many memorable moments with us and was an integral part of our 2023 playoff team. We wish him the best in Buffalo as he continues his NFL career.”
Adding Cooper gives the Bills significant and needed help at the receiver position. Without Diggs, the team embraced an “everybody eats” mindset with the goal of getting a variety of players involved in the offense at all times, but too often, especially in the last three games, the receivers struggled to get open downfield.
Bills wide receivers rank 25th or worse in targets, receptions, receiving yards, and receiving first downs.
Cooper, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, has 691 receptions for 9,736 yards and 62 touchdowns in his 10-season career.
By ESPN
