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Amari Cooper catching a pass
In October, the Cleveland Browns traded Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills with a 2025 sixth-round draft pick for a 2025 third-round pick and a seventh-round selection in 2026. The Browns didn’t have a need for Cooper on the roster, and he wasn’t great with the Bills, dealing with injuries and overall not playing well.
His future in Buffalo is in question, with Cooper set to hit the free agency market. The Bills were hopeful that they’d find a No. 1 wide receiver, but instead, they got the worst of Cooper, who looked like a star during parts of his career with the Browns.
Cooper’s poor performance likely hurt his market.
So much so that Bill Barnwell of ESPN doesn’t believe he’ll return to the Bills in 2025.
“The Browns didn’t want to extend Cooper after his Pro Bowl season in 2023. It would be a surprise if he returned to the Bills in 2025.
“He was a below-average wide receiver in 2024, and that’s usually going to mean a modest free agent market for a player who will be 31 in June. I would be a little nervous he’s going to defy the odds and prove yet another team wrong for writing him off,” Barnwell wrote.
Cooper Had Limited Chances With the Bills
With the Cleveland Browns, Cooper looked like a No. 1 receiver. Despite how poor the quarterback play was during his time with the team, he still put up impressive stats, putting up 1,250 yards and five touchdowns in 2023.
That wasn’t the case with the Buffalo Bills, and his limited snap target could’ve been why.
“Cooper arrived with a big first game on limited snaps, but outside of a 14-target game against the Rams, he faded into the background and had only 21 targets over his nine other active games,” Buscaglia wrote.
“Through the season’s final two months, Cooper’s snap rate was mainly the fourth-best of the five receivers on the roster, which wasn’t exactly the impact many expected. However, the team revealed after the season that he was dealing with a wrist injury that could have required surgery.”
Could Cooper Return to AFC North?
There are a few teams that could use a player of Cooper’s status. A reunion with the Cleveland Browns wouldn’t make any sense, but PFF believes the Pittsburgh Steelers could be in play.
The Steelers have been looking for more weapons in recent years, and with the hope of finding a franchise quarterback at some point in the future, Cooper could help whoever that eventually is.
“The Steelers were actively shopping for receiving help at the trade deadline, with reports linking them to several options, including the former Brown. Pairing the even-keeled Cooper with George Pickens would be a prudent move to calm the Steelers’ receiver room and split defensive attention,” PFF wrote.
The Steelers have been one of the better teams in the AFC North for much of the past decade and are a team many Browns fans don’t love.
Watching Cooper succeed in Pittsburgh would be a rough outcome for the Cleveland fans who want the Browns to win again.
Jon Conahan covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. Since 2019, his sports coverage has appeared at Sports Illustrated, oddschecker, ClutchPoints and Sportskeeda. More about Jon Conahan
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