The Buffalo Bills announced on Tuesday that they finalized a trade for wide receiver Amari Cooper from the Cleveland Browns, strengthening their offense for the rest of the season.
The Bills received Cooper and a 2025 sixth-round draft pick with a 2025 third-round pick and a 2026 seventh-round pick heading to Cleveland in exchange.
“Move or rust,” Cooper posted on his Instagram story shortly after the news was announced.
It is potentially a seismic move for Buffalo who fills the void left by Stefon Diggs after he was traded to the Houston Texans in the offseason.
Cooper arrives in upstate New York to fill the No. 1 receiver role left by Diggs and gives quarterback Josh Allen a clear top target, having been working a ‘receiver by committee’ approach through the first six weeks of the season.
After the trade was announced, Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Cooper’s “ability to get separation” will add to the team’s “flavor on offense.”
McDermott added that having Cooper’s former receiving coach from his time in Dallas, Adam Henry, on Buffalo’s staff helped the team make the move to acquire him.
“Adam and I spoke earlier today about Amari. And the things he said were positive. You always want to check in with people who have been around the player,” McDermott said.
“We wouldn’t have probably done this if Adam didn’t give us his blessing from: ‘Hey, this is what I know about Amari, what type of person he is, what type of player he is.’”
Cooper was the No. 4 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft out of Alabama by the then-Oakland Raiders. Tuesday’s trade marks the third time Cooper has been dealt in his career; he was first moved from the Raiders to the Dallas Cowboys in 2019 before being shipped to the Browns in 2022.
The 30-year-old is a five-time Pro Bowl selection and has 9,736 receiving yards and 62 touchdowns in his career. He has had six seasons with more than 1,000 yards receiving, including his last two full seasons in 2022 and 2023.
Last season, Cooper recorded a career-high 1,250 receiving yards for a Cleveland team which lost in the first round of the playoffs.
This season, though, the Browns are off to a 1-5 start with a stuttering offense. Cooper has cut a frustrated figure, recording 24 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns.
“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 on Tuesday. “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.”
Cooper now joins a wide receiver room with Khalil Shakir, rookie Keon Coleman and the tight-end duo of Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox.
In contrast to the Browns, the Bills are off to a much more successful start as they sit atop the AFC East with a 4-2 record after beating the New York Jets 23-20 on Monday Night Football.
Cooper’s trade comes on the same day that his fellow receiver Davante Adams was traded from the Raiders to the New York Jets.