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Just hours after the Buffalo Bills barely scraped by the New York Jets 23-20, both teams have made trades to bring in a star wide receiver. Just hours after the Jets' Davante Adams move, the Bills made a deal with the Cleveland Browns to acquire veteran All-Pro Bowl wideout Amari Cooper via trade.
“BREAKING: Browns trading WR Amari Cooper to Bills, sources tell @NFLonFOX,” NFL insider Jordan Schultz was the first to report on X, formerly Twitter.
This Bills-Browns Amari Cooper trade involves Buffalo sending a 2025 third and a 2026 seventh-round pick to Clevland for Cooper and a 2025 sixth-round selection. The now-former Brown restructured his contract before the season and is now on a minimum deal this year.
Money-wise, the Bills got a much better deal than the Jets got with Adams.
“The Browns converted $18.79 million of Amari Cooper's $20M salary to a signing bonus back in March,” NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported after the trade. “Buffalo didn't have the flexibility to pay Davante Adams $11.6 million for the rest of 2024 like the #Jets did. Now, they get Cooper for … $806,667.”
Cooper has been relatively quiet this season as the Browns offense has struggled mightily. The five-time Pro Bowler has 24 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns this season.
The Bills address their biggest offensive need
The Bills have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL with Josh Allen, one of the top offensive lines, and running back James Cook was in the top 12 of yards from scrimmage before sitting out Week 6 with an injury. And on Monday, Cook's backup, Ray Davis, posted 152 all-purpose yards against the Jets, which is the most for a rookie this season.
It is the wide receiver position that has hurt the Bills offense in 2024. After losing Gabe Davis and Stefon Diggs in the offseason, Buffalo has not fully replaced them. Khalil Shakir has been good but already missed a game with an injury. The rest of the veterans — Mack Hollins, Curtis Samuel, Marquez Valdes-Scantling — have been average as best.
Second-round pick Keon Coleman has been good at times but has also looked every bit the rookie at other times, making some big mistakes.
Bringing in Amari Cooper is a great deal for the Bills as it will upgrade the WR corps while also not costing a lot this season or in the future. It signals that the franchise is all-in for a Super Bowl run this season, and the star WR will be a key piece if that happens.
