Amari Cooper moved from being a declining No. 1 wide receiver in Cleveland to a top receiver with Buffalo.
The Bills wanted to give quarterback Josh Allen a key playmaker, so they traded for Cooper on Tuesday from the struggling Browns, whose season is falling apart with the worst offense in the NFL.
Just hours after the New York Jets traded for Davante Adams to team up with Aaron Rodgers, the Bills made their own significant move, hoping it will keep them ahead of their AFC East rivals and set them up for a strong playoff push.
Cooper, a five-time Pro Bowler, will enhance Buffalo’s receiving group, which has been lacking since they traded Stefon Diggs to Houston in the offseason.
“Any time you feel like you’re improving as a football team, I would say yes,” coach Sean McDermott said when asked if the trade gives the team a boost.
“But on paper is one thing, right? At the end of the day, can the person play and help us? That’s really what we’re here to see over the next couple of days,” he added. “And I would hope that the answer to all of that is yes.”
Cooper was set to practice on Wednesday as Buffalo gets ready to face Tennessee this weekend.
The Bills gave up a third-round pick in the 2025 draft and a seventh-round pick in 2026 to Cleveland in exchange for Cooper and a sixth-round pick in 2025. This trade occurred a day after the Bills (4-2) defeated the Jets 23-20.
For Cooper, this trade ends a tough and inconsistent third season with Cleveland.
The 30-year-old, who is in his final contract year, has struggled with unusual drops that didn’t help the Browns’ quarterback Deshaun Watson get back on track. “Move or rust,” Cooper posted on Instagram.
Cooper’s exit will leave Watson without an important target and push Jerry Jeudy, Elijah Moore, and Cedric Tillman up the roster. Jeudy, who joined Cleveland in an offseason trade from Denver, has 20 catches for 248 yards and a touchdown.
Moore has 16 catches for 95 yards but got hurt in Sunday’s loss. Tillman was expected to make a big impact in his second season, but the third-round pick has only three catches.
A fresh start could be beneficial for Cooper, who is the only player in Browns history to have back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. After a slow beginning, he was still leading Cleveland with 24 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns.
However, he and Watson have struggled to connect for much of the season, and Cooper had only 12 catches for 137 yards in his last three games. Still, he played a vital role in Cleveland’s improvement over the last two seasons.
“We appreciate Amari’s hard work, professionalism, and on-field contributions throughout his two-plus seasons with us,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry said. “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.”
Knowing a trade was possible, McDermott spent the morning reviewing every pass thrown to Cooper this season to understand the player better.
He also talked with Bills receivers coach Adam Henry, who had the same position in Dallas in 2020 and ’21 when Cooper played with CeeDee Lamb.
“The things he said were positive,” McDermott said. “And so we wouldn’t have probably done this if Adam didn’t give us his blessing.” As one of the NFL’s top route-runners, Cooper will give Allen another option.
Khalil Shakir leads the Bills with 20 catches for 249 yards and two touchdowns. Buffalo’s receiving group also includes Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins, and rookie Keon Coleman. The team made space for Cooper by cutting Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who had two catches for 26 yards.
McDermott recognized that Cooper’s skill in getting open from defenders was something the team really needed.
The Browns trading one of their best players might indicate that the team has given up on the season. Cleveland (1-5) lost its fourth game in a row on Sunday, falling 20-16 to Philadelphia.
So far, the Browns have not scored 20 points or gained 300 yards in a single game.
Cooper’s trade has seemed likely for months since the Browns decided not to give him the contract extension he wanted this summer. They changed his deal, turning almost $19 million of his $20 million base salary into a guaranteed signing bonus.
The Bills will only pay $806,667 in salary for the rest of the season, making Cooper a more affordable choice compared to Adams for a team that spent the offseason cutting costs to free up money for the future.
The Browns brought in Cooper in a 2022 trade when the Cowboys wanted to reduce their salary expenses. From the moment he arrived in Cleveland, Cooper, who had a standout career at Alabama, became an important leader for coach Kevin Stefanski.
However, the last few months have been strange for the reliable veteran.
He missed minicamp due to a contract holdout before the Browns adjusted his deal just before training camp. Cooper was also the focus of many trade rumors—mostly connected to San Francisco—before those talks died down.
