After the best free agents were either franchise tagged or re-signed by their teams, the market looked a bit weak other than Allen Robinson and the possible availability of Amari Cooper, should the Cowboys scrap his twenty million dollars from their cap for 2022.
The problem with Cooper as a free agent for the Browns was that a top receiver is unlikely to select the Browns with the Kevin Stefanski tight end heavy offense, the problems that Odell Beckham had with the team, and of course putting your career in the hands of Baker Mayfield, all add up to either not addressing your need or overpaying to bring them to Cleveland.
So, Andrew Berry decided to take the choice out of Amari Cooper's hands and swapped a 2022 fifth-rounder and the right to flip sixth-rounders to Dallas to bolster the pass-catching corps.
Amari Cooper caught sixty-eight passes for 865 yards and seven touchdowns last season in fifteen games for the Cowboys and was a player that Dallas wasn't looking to move for performance reasons but thought that CeeDee Lamb was ready to into the number one receiver position and twenty million a season is a high-end salary for your second receiver.
In other words, Cooper at his cost was a luxury item, not a necessity.
At twenty-eight by the time the season starts, Cooper is far from washed up and since being selected by the then-Oakland Raiders fourth overall in 2015, Cooper has missed only four games in his career (two of those for Dallas last season) and had he not missed those games, Cooper was likely to click up his fourth straight 1,000 receiving yard season.
Cooper may not be an elite deep threat but he is certainly a level under the top in the games and I would go as far to say that Cooper would be the best deep receiver that Cleveland has seen since those halcyon days of a very young Josh Gordon.
And what many don't see is the route running abilities that Amari Cooper possesses.
Cooper isn't a one dimensional, straight-line runner that runs by his man for one or two big plays a game, he's a player that a quarterback can get the ball to in almost every area of the field and one that teams will have to put their best cornerback on throughout the game.
There are a few questions in this trade to be answered.
Kevin Stefanski's offense has never thrilled outside receivers as Stefon Diggs was stifled in Minnesota, Odell Beckham had his issues in Cleveland, and Jarvis Landry's better seasons in Cleveland were Pre-Stefanski.
Could Cooper be the latest receiver to chafe under Kevin Stefanski?
Odell Beckham had major issues meshing with Baker Mayfield and Beckham's style isn't radically different than that of Cooper, I think that it is far from an assumption to count on Mayfield and Cooper finding that intangible known as "chemistry".
The other issue with Cooper?
Cooper missed his games last season after testing positive for Covid-19 and reportedly still is unvaccinated.
Covid isn't going away with future variants and strains still to come- Is it possible that Cooper couldn't be available for a must-win game?
Cooper is going to receive a lot of money under his contract that he signed with Dallas as Cooper is under contract for twenty million a season for each of the next three seasons.
I would say that Cooper may not be in Cleveland for all three of those seasons due to cap constraints (although it's always possible that the contract could be reworked) but Cooper could be around for two and should Cooper perform well, the Brown could possibly keep him for the contract term.
Jarvis Landry asked for permission from the Browns to seek a trade and permission was given as Landry would like to find a team that would be willing to pay his fifteen million contract for 2022.
The Browns have offered to restructure his contract to keep Landry and while he would be a nice complement to Cooper, I would say, I'd think it's unlikely to happen.
I'd still like to see the Browns use the 13th pick on another wide receiver (especially if Ohio State's Garrett Wilson is still available) or at least consider trying to trade back into the first round later (the Browns other glaring need is at defensive end or defensive tackle) for a player such as Ohio State's Chris Olave or Arkansas's Treylon Burks, who posted mediocre combine numbers and is reported to be tumbling down draft boards.
In the event that the Browns could manage to keep Jarvis Landry, the Browns still should consider a day two receiver as I don't see the Browns being to get by with Donovan Peoples-Jones or one-dimensional Anthony Schwartz.
Should the Browns somehow retain Landry, they could avoid a first or second-round receiver but I'd still recommend it in a season that the team has stated that they are going to ride with Baker Mayfield to give him as many weapons as possible to help him succeed (or take away excuses if he fails).
There is no downside to this trade other than a high salary if Cooper doesn't produce at an elite level.
Otherwise, the price is a fifth-rounder in a draft that the Browns possess two third-rounders and two fourth-rounders, and a swap of sixth-rounders.
You could also consider Jarvis Landry as part of the trade, should you decide to do as Landry's salary had to be reallocated (reworked or released) in order to clear the path for Cooper but even assuming that Landry is included in the deal, I still think that the deal was a good one.
Amari Cooper is younger, more versatile, and a more dynamic receiver than Jarvis Landry and I'd say that Andrew Berry did very well- even better if there is a chance of retaining Landry as the veteran possession receiver that Baker Mayfield may still need in the lineup.
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