Detailing the Amari Cooper Options
Credit: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
Right now, the hottest news for the Cleveland Browns is the apparent stalemate between star receiver, Amari Cooper and Andrew Berry. Just two seasons ago, the Browns gave up only a fifth-round pick for Cooper. Some instant contract restructuring freed up more than $15 million in cap for the organization, even though the Dallas Cowboys couldn’t afford him. It was a massive bargain for the franchise, and Cooper doing his part made it even better.
Wide receiver has been a position that Berry refused to overpay for in his first few seasons, but that has changed in recent years. Berry gave up a second-round pick for Elijah Moore, who had two years left on his rookie deal, and two late-round picks for Jerry Jeudy this offseason, which came with a massive extension.
If Cooper’s situation can’t be resolved, what options does Berry have left?
Extend and Restructure Cooper:
The easiest solution to put this all to bed is to extend and restructure the deal for Cooper. He’s currently set to make more than $23 million in 2024, but Cooper wants peace of mind that he has guaranteed money down the road. Additionally, he has seen guys like Justin Jefferson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Tyreek Hill get more than $30 million per season in recent long-term extensions.
Cooper probably doesn’t think he deserves that type of money, but he has a case to look for a two to three-year extension with an average salary of $24 million per year. Cooper has certainly been a consistent contributor to this roster, but it’s difficult to see him making money around the top receivers in the league.
Cooper is certainly a top-20 player at his position and has been a fantastic option for the Browns offense, but if he is looking for anything approaching $30 million per year, Berry may not be wrong in looking for other options.
Trade Cooper:
The issue with trading Cooper now is he only has one year left on the deal. Given that he is already sitting out asking for a new contract, all trading him may accomplish now is freeing up $20 million in cap space.
While cap space is crucial to some teams, the Haslems have shown time and time again they don’t care about how much it costs. Combine that and the fact that the Browns are still under the cap for 2024, there’s little urgency to trade Cooper and get a fifth or sixth-round pick in return.
However, the right trade partner could make a deal interesting. Specifically, Brandon Aiyuk, who is also rumored to want out of San Francisco. If the 49ers were interested in Cooper, a trade makes a ton of sense, there might be significant hurdles in doing so.
For one, San Francisco wants to move on from Aiyuk to avoid paying him a massive deal that would likely be in the $30 plus per year range, so unless Cooper would take meaningfully less than that, why would they want to trade for an older player with less skills?
Now, maybe Cooper would be excited to move to California and play for a team that is an instant threat to win a Super Bowl, but it still feels like there are too many gaps to get a deal like this done. Don’t forget, if the Browns made this trade, they would also have to figure out a massive long-term deal for Aiyuk, meaning they’d be paying big for a wideout anyway. It’s intriguing, but a tough situation to navigate.
Release Cooper:
This is an option as in, it’s something that is on the table, theoretically. In practice, this isn’t actually an option. The only upside would be the cost savings for this season. Even if Cleveland is interested in that, what’s the backup plan?
At this point signing a free agent like Zay Jones or Hunter Renfrow is not even close to replacing a talent like Cooper. Yes, they added Jeudy, but we have yet to see him put a full season of strong production together, let alone prove he’s capable of being a No. 1 receiver for the Browns.
On top of that, moving Jeudy to No. 1 not only gives them a weak top option, but also puts Moore in a bad position as the No. 2 option. Cooper missed two games last season, and his presence was missed immensely due to the of talent behind him.
Given that cap space isn’t an issue, this roster is built to win now, and there isn’t a great backup option, the Browns need to figure this problem out quickly. If Berry feels like the price tag is too high to extend Cooper, then he better be working on a backup option to acquire via trade, or else this offense is at risk of being extremely limited again in 2024.
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