The Cleveland Browns surprised many of their fans on Tuesday with a decision to trade star wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills.
Cleveland shipped Cooper and a sixth-round pick in the upcoming draft to Buffalo in exchange for two draft picks – a third-round selection in 2025 and a seventh-round choice in 2026.
It’s the third time in Cooper’s career that the wide receiver has been traded by his current team, giving him some experience with this situation.
Insider Mary Kay Cabot shared on X a three-word message from Cooper after news of the trade was announced, a message coming across as acceptance by the five-time Pro Bowler.
The wide receiver was traded by the Las Vegas Raiders and the Dallas Cowboys in his previous stops, and the Bills will become his fourth home during a 10-year run in the NFL.
Cooper has caught 691 passes for 9,736 yards and 62 touchdowns in his professional career.
The 30-year-old entered the league in 2015 as the Raiders’ first-round pick, going No. 4 overall in that year’s draft.
Cooper has not had a stellar season this year, catching only 24 of the 53 targets he’s had for 250 yards and two touchdowns in 2024.
The receiver also leads the NFL in dropped passes, having been tagged with nine drops to start the season.
Cooper and Cleveland had an impasse earlier this year when the wide receiver staged a contract holdout during the offseason in an attempt to get a multi-year extension from the franchise.
Instead, the Browns offered Cooper a guaranteed salary that’s nearly paid in full already, one reason why he was such a valuable trade target.