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    Everything You Need To Know About the Amari Cooper Trade Between the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns

    The Bills found another WR for Josh Allen by trading for Browns wideout Amari Cooper. Here's everything you need to know about Buffalo's acquisition.

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    The AFC East apparently decided to turn Tuesday, Oct. 15, into “Acquire a Veteran Wide Receiver” Day.

    Hours after the division-rival New York Jets reunited Davante Adams with Aaron Rodgers via a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders, the Buffalo Bills made their own move for a pass catcher by acquiring Cleveland Browns WR Amari Cooper.

    What led to this week’s Cooper trade, and how will his presence in Buffalo affect the AFC playoff race? Let’s run through all the fallout from the Bills-Browns blockbuster.

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    Why Did the Buffalo Bills Want Amari Cooper?

    The Bills are atop the AFC East with a 4-2 record. Josh Allen has looked like an MVP candidate for most of the season, while Buffalo ranks third in EPA per dropback. On paper, the Bills’ passing offense might’ve appeared set before the Cooper trade.

    However, much of Buffalo’s passing production was generated over the first three weeks of the season, when Allen and Co. averaged 37.3 points per game. Over the past three weeks, they’ve gone 1-2 while scoring only 17.6 points per game.

    The Bills’ schedule contributed to that disparity. Buffalo beat up the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins, and Jacksonville Jaguars before having more trouble against stiffer defenses like the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, and Jets.

    Still, the Bills needed more consistency out of their wide receivers. None of Allen’s pass catchers rank among the NFL’s top in receiving yards through six weeks. In early October, head coach Sean McDermott admitted he was “concerned” about his club’s WR depth chart.

    Moreover, Buffalo’s offensive output has been buoyed by explosive passing plays. Through six games, 15% of the Bills’ passing plays have gained 16+ yards, tied for the sixth-best clip in the league. However, they’ve struggled on a down-to-down basis and rank just 16th in passing success rate (44.1%).

    Cooper should help replace the route-running acumen of Stefon Diggs, whom Buffalo traded to Houston earlier this offseason. While he’s averaged just 10.4 yards per catch in 2024, most of Cooper’s poor results can be ascribed to Cleveland’s atrocious quarterback play.

    The 30-year-old set a career-high with 17.4 yards per catch in 2023 and has topped 1,000 receiving yards in six of his eight pro campaigns. Cooper historically spends 80% of his time on the perimeter, allowing Buffalo to keep Khalil Shakir in the slot while rotating Keon Coleman, Curtis Samuel, and Mack Hollins at its other wide receiver spot.

    What Was the Trade Compensation?

    Here’s the full breakdown of the Cooper trade:

    • Bills acquire: WR Amari Cooper, 2025 sixth-round pick
    • Browns acquire: 2025 third-round pick, 2026 seventh-round pick

    Cleveland owns four 2025 sixth-round choices and could collect as many as two more via the NFL’s compensatory pick process. It’s unclear which Round 6 selection the Browns will send to the Bills.

    If we strip away the various picks involved in this trade and use the values in the classic Jimmy Johnson NFL trade value chart, Cleveland and Buffalo valued Cooper as roughly equivalent to a late-third-round pick. Over the Cap’s value chart puts Cooper’s surplus value closer to a mid-fourth-round selection.

    Why Did the Browns Trade Cooper?

    Cleveland was reportedly willing to include Cooper in a trade for San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk earlier this summer. While that deal never came to fruition, Browns general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski had at least considered the idea before sending Cooper to the Bills.

    The Browns fell to 1-5 after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6. While all but one of their losses have come by a single score, Cleveland has just one victory, a tight 18-13 win over the Jaguars in Week 2.

    Deshaun Watson has been the NFL’s worst quarterback by QBR and yards per play through six weeks. The Browns have scored just 15.8 points per game, better than only the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins.

    Cleveland isn’t going anywhere fast, while Cooper was scheduled to become a free agent in 2025. With little hope of re-signing him, the Browns decided to get something for Cooper now rather than wait for a potential compensatory pick in 2026.

    How Many Times Has Cooper Been Traded?

    This is the third time Cooper has been traded since entering the NFL in 2015.

    Cooper was first moved almost exactly six years before his trade to Buffalo. On Oct. 22, 2018, the Raiders sent Cooper to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a 2019 first-round pick. That choice ended up as the 27th overall selection in Round 1, which Las Vegas used on safety Johnathan Abram.

    While Cooper averaged an 80-1,056-7 line over his full three seasons in Dallas, Jerry Jones didn’t want to pay Cooper’s salary entering the 2022 campaign. Instead, the Cowboys sent Cooper to the Cleveland Browns in a cost-cutting move, acquiring just a fifth-round pick and a swap of sixths in the 2022 NFL Draft.

    How Does the Cooper Trade Impact the Bills and Browns’ Salary Caps?

    While the Jets took on nearly $12 million in additional financial commitments by acquiring Adams, Cooper represents a relative bargain for the Bills.

    The Browns restructured Cooper’s contract earlier this year, slashing his 2024 base salary to the league minimum while converting the rest of his pay into a signing bonus, which was prorated over the life of his deal.

    What does that mean for the Bills? They’ll only have to pay Cooper the remainder of his incredibly inexpensive $1.21 million salary, which comes to roughly $800,000. As noted, he is scheduled to become a free agent next March.

    Buffalo had just $3.3 million in cap space before acquiring Cooper, the fourth-least in the NFL.

    Because the Browns traded Adams after June 1, his dead money will be spread across this season and next. Cleveland will take on $7.53 million in dead money in 2024 and $22.58 million in 2025.

    Are the Bills Super Bowl Contenders?

    Absolutely. The Bills were considered serious playoff and Super Bowl contenders before acquiring Cooper, but their new wideout only solidifies their status as genuine Lombardi chasers.

    DraftKings’ sportsbook didn’t alter Buffalo’s Super Bowl (+1200) or AFC title (+550) odds after its Cooper acquisition. However, DK did shorten the Bills’ AFC East odds from -500 to -370.

    ESPN’s playoff model gives Buffalo a 95% chance of making the playoffs and an 85% chance of winning the AFC East following their Week 6 win over the Jets. In the AFC, only the Kansas City Chiefs have better odds of entering the postseason or winning their respective division.

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