Amari Cooper

Cowboys May Reunite With Amari Cooper After Missing Out On Tetairoa McMillan

April 28th, 2025 at 4:46pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Cowboys were widely expected to add to their wide receiver room this offseason, but they didn’t sign any major free agents or draft a single player at the position.

Dallas would have drafted Tetairoa McMillan with the No. 12 pick if he was available, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer, but the Arizona wideout was selected three picks earlier by the Panthers. They also explored a trade for a veteran receiver from the AFC North, per Archer, but couldn’t come to terms to finalize the deal.

Now, Dallas will likely have to add one of the veteran receivers still available in free agency. One name has already jumped out at the team, per Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Amari Cooper. He had a down year in 2024, both in Cleveland before the trade deadline and in Buffalo after. The 30-year-old posted the lowest per-game numbers of his career and has received little interest in free agency as a result.

The Cowboys have discussed the possibility of a reunion with Cooper internally, but no deal is imminent, according to NFL Network’s Jane Slater. The team is still evaluating their options at the position, which also include veteran free agents like Keenan Allen and Nelson Agholor.

After missing out on McMillan, the Cowboys went with offensive guard Tyler Booker and by the time they were back on the clock in the second round, four more receivers were off the board. Dallas took Florida State edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku with pick No. 44, and another four wideouts were taken before their next pick, which they used on Eastern Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel. All three players were ranked among the team’s top 35 prospects, according to Archer.

Though the Cowboys didn’t address their biggest need in the draft, it’s hard to argue with their process. They drew criticism for taking a guard with such a high first-round pick, especially since Booker was not considered a top-20 talent. However, he was thought to be the best guard in the draft, and the team’s acquisition of falling talents at premium positions in Ezeiruaku and Revel allowed them to finish Day 2 with three players who could start as rookies.

Bills See RB James Cook As Core Player; Team Plans To Bolster CB Group In Offseason

February 9th, 2025 at 12:44pm CST by Rory Parks

The Bills see running back James Cook as a “big part” of their future, as Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported last month (video link). That is hardly surprising, as Cook has posted a robust 4.9 yards-per-carry average over his first three years in the NFL and led the league in rushing touchdowns (16) in 2024.

Because Cook, a 2022 draftee, is now eligible for an extension, it would be fair to expect Buffalo to engage in contract discussions with the two-time Pro Bowler’s camp this offseason (especially since he is a former second-round pick and does not have a fifth-year option included in his rookie deal). The problem, as Rapoport observes, is that Cook is just one of a number of talented young players whose contract situations may need to be addressed in short order.

Like Cook, linebacker Terrel Bernard, center Connor McGovern, cornerback Christian Benford, and edge defender Gregory Rousseau are all entering platform years, and Rapoport identifies that quintet as a group that could be in line for a new deal. GM Brandon Beane could deploy the franchise tag on one of those players next offseason if need be, but he will still have plenty of work to do to keep a championship-caliber core intact.

Indeed, despite the Bills’ inability to get over a Kansas City-sized hump in the AFC playoff field, Beane understandably is not going to overhaul his roster. In his end-of-season presser following another difficult playoff defeat at the hands of the Chiefs several weeks ago, Beane said he and his staff will “reset” and “recalibrate” as the Bills seek to advance to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1993 campaign (via Alex White and Maddy Glab of the team’s official website, who also name WR Khalil Shakir as a rising fourth-year pro who might be the target of extension talks).

Part of Beane’s offseason plan will almost certainly include negotiations with at least some members of Buffalo’s 2026 free agent class, but Beane naturally indicated he will first attend to the players who are due to hit the open market next month. That list includes players like midseason trade acquisition Amari Cooper – whose disappointing Buffalo stint did not foreclose the possibility of a new contract keeping the high-profile wideout in western New York – and cornerback Rasul Douglas.

Beane said he will not bloat the Bills’ salary cap picture with expensive contracts in an effort to slay their playoff demons, which is perhaps an indication that Buffalo will once again avoid the deep end of the free agent pool. However, he did concede that he will need to address the team’s outside cornerback position in some way.

The Bills’ lack of depth in that regard was on full display when Benford was injured in the first quarter of this year’s AFC Championship Game against the Chiefs and was lost for the remainder of the contest. That depth will become even more of a concern if the team does not re-sign Douglas.

“Whether it’s extending guys, signing a free agent, or draft allocation, [boundary corner] is one of the areas we would look at,” Beane said.

Underlying all of this is the fact that the Bills could look to give quarterback and newly-minted MVP Josh Allen a pay bump. If such a raise comes as part of an extension or restructure, it could allow the team to reduce Allen’s $43MM cap charge for 2025 and improve their salary cap situation (at present, OverTheCap.com estimates that Buffalo is roughly $14MM over the 2025 cap, the third-worst situation in the league).

Bills Don’t Regret Amari Cooper Trade, Would Consider Re-Signing WR

January 30th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Ben Levine

Amari Cooper‘s half-season stint in Buffalo didn’t necessarily go as planned. After being shipped from the Browns to the Bills in October, the veteran wideout was limited to only 20 receptions and a career-worst 37.1 yards per game. Despite the disappointing results, it sounds like Bills GM Brandon Beane would make the move again.

Speaking to reporters today, Beane said he does “not regret the move” and believes Cooper helped the Bills despite the lack of counting stats (per ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg). The GM also hinted that the wideout’s wrist injury may have contributed to his underwhelming production. Beane told reporters that Cooper’s wrist injury could have required surgery, with one doctor actually recommending that route. However, the wideout decided to play through the injury (per Getzenberg).

Cooper is now set to hit free agency, and there’s a chance the two sides look to continue their partnership. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Bills have been happy with Cooper’s presence in the locker room, and they’re “intrigued” by the idea of giving the receiver a full offseason to click with Josh Allen.

The 30-year-old WR may not have a robust market following a disappointing 2024 campaign. In 14 games with the Browns and Bills, Cooper was limited to only 44 catches for 547 yards and four touchdowns. Still, Cooper is only a year removed from a 2023 campaign where he hauled in a career-high 1,250 receiving yards, so there could be plenty of teams that are willing to look past the recent drop in production.

While the Bills will continue to evaluate their wide receiver options heading into the offseason, the front office will also be focused on keeping their franchise QB in Buffalo for the long haul. While Allen is still under contract through the 2028 campaign, Beane didn’t completely rule out extending his franchise star.

“I’m not saying it will happen, I’m not saying it won’t happen — I don’t really want to go into that,” Beane said of a potential extension (h/t Myles Simmons of ProFootballTalk.com). “And I really can’t tell you at this point. We haven’t even approached that. It’s just, season-ending loss, he doesn’t even want to talk about it. … He was dejected, like all of us. There will be a time and place. And not saying we will, but not ruling it out either.”

AFC Injury Updates: Jets, Cooper, Jaguars

January 4th, 2025 at 5:04pm CST by Ely Allen

On Monday, the Jets placed starting safety Chuck Clark on injured reserve without disclosing the reason for the transaction. Similarly, the next day, kicker Greg Zuerlein was placed on IR, as well, though his transaction flew a bit further under the radar as a minor move.

Today, ESPN’s Rich Cimini reported reasons for both transactions today. Clark was reportedly placed on IR with a torn pectoral muscle. Clark had recently worked his way back from injury, being activated off IR in mid-November after missing a month with an ankle injury. Since leaving Baltimore in 2022, Clark has been absolutely plagued by injuries. He missed the entire 2023 season with a torn ACL and only appeared in 12 games this year.

Zuerlein was placed on IR after reportedly experiencing some back tightness in pregame warmups last Sunday. Greg Joseph was available for the game in replacement duty, but he didn’t attempt a kick in the loss to Buffalo.

Here are a couple other injury updates heading into the final week of the regular season:

The Bills have been locked into the No. 2 seed in the AFC no matter what happens in Week 18 of the regular season, so they will likely have a number of starters remaining on the sideline for most of the game. One starter, wide receiver Amari Cooper, will not even be available to play, being downgraded to out today due to a personal family matter, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. Cooper will not even travel with the team this week.
Similarly, Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen will not be traveling to Indianapolis with his teammates this weekend. He also has been ruled out due to personal reasons, according to Schefter. Hines-Allen will miss his first game in three years.

Trade Rumors: Chiefs, Cooper, Browns, Jefferson, Bills, Eagles

October 22nd, 2024 at 5:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

Reminding of the 2010s Patriots, the Chiefs have continued to pile up wins lacking in style points. They are the NFL’s lone unbeaten, though the two-time reigning Super Bowl champs’ plus-43 point differential — thanks to four one-score wins — is tied for seventh in the NFL. Kansas City has lost Rashee Rice for the season, and Marquise Brown is out for at least the full regular season. The team also lost JuJu Smith-Schuster on Sunday; the recently re-signed veteran aggravated a hamstring injury and will miss at least Week 8, Andy Reid said.

While the Chiefs do have an all-time great at tight end in Travis Kelce, albeit a 35-year-old version of the TE/podcast host/actor, they have not seen first-rounder Xavier Worthy develop into a consistent option. The team has used Mecole Hardman more, with Justin Watson and Skyy Moore reprised their 2023 roles as regulars Sunday due to the injuries. Although Kansas City keeps getting by — thanks largely to a stout defense — SI.com’s Albert Breer points to the team still being interested in adding a wideout.

The Chiefs have been linked to DeAndre Hopkins and Christian Kirk recently but have not made a move. It will be interesting to see if an AFC team would be willing to help them construct a better threepeat bid. NFCer Cooper Kupp, however, is available — albeit for a second-round pick. With the deadline moved back a week (to Nov. 5) this year, here is more from the trade market:

Amari Cooper relocated to Buffalo last week, with the Browns — after having not extended the reliable veteran this offseason — dealing him to the Bills in a pick-swap trade headlined by a 2025 third-rounder. The Browns were planning to hang onto Cooper until closer to the deadline, according to cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot. In addition to Buffalo, two other teams were in on the former top-five pick, per Cabot, who adds the other suitors did not match the Bills’ aggression. Cooper did not expect to be dealt, and the Browns did not anticipate the Bills showing such strong interest. The 30-year-old pass catcher caught four passes for 66 yards and a touchdown in his Bills debut.
The Bills are not shutting the door on making another move to bolster their enduring Super Bowl quest. Bills GM Brandon Beane said during a Pat McAfee Show interview that Josh Allen‘s presence, despite the team’s cost-cutting moves this offseason, continues to keep the club “all in” toward a Super Bowl push. The eighth-year GM is open to more deals, though The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia indicates a lower-profile trade — potentially for a backup offensive lineman — could be the Cooper encore. Beane added the Browns showing cold feet on Cooper would have prompted the team to keep looking at receiver. Cooper’s presence rounds out Buffalo’s receiving corps, which has seen improvement from Khalil Shakir and some recent growth from rookie Keon Coleman.
Another Browns player drawing trade interest: veteran D-lineman Quinton Jefferson. Teams have asked about the recent free agent signing, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes. A productive but nomadic player, Jefferson has played for five teams over the past five years. The former Seahawks draftee has operated as a Browns backup, playing in five games and registering one sack. The Browns used void years to drop Jefferson’s cap hit to $1.2MM (on a one-year, $4MM deal), giving an acquiring team a minimal prorated sum to take on in the event of a trade. The Browns should be expected to move other pieces not essential to their 2025-and-beyond plans, but Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward are viewed as off the table.
The Eagles received a bounce-back effort from their pass rush Sunday, preying on Andrew Thomas‘ absence to sack Giants quarterbacks eight times. Jalen Carter and off-ball linebacker Nakobe Dean led the way with two apiece. Defensive ends accounted for the other four, but the edge group has started slowly. Big-ticket FA signing Bryce Huff has 1.5 sacks and just three QB hits in six games. Going into Week 7, Breer added the Eagles — rarely shy about trade talks under Howie Roseman — may be a team to monitor regarding a pass-rushing addition.

Amari Cooper To Play In Week 7; Latest On Bills’ Pursuit

October 18th, 2024 at 10:46pm CST by Adam La Rose

Davante Adams was dealt to the Jets earlier this week, but that AFC East wideout acquisition was soon followed up by the Bills landing Amari Cooper. Further details have emerged on the latter swap.

Buffalo was one of several suitors for Adams, who represented the top trade target amongst receivers. The price for adding the three-time All-Pro was dictated in large part by Vegas’ desire to avoid retaining any of his salary. That wound up being the case, something which took the Bills out of the running to seriously pursue a deal.

“My gut was [the Raiders] were never interested in eating money, which they didn’t,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane confirmed when speaking about Adams’ trade market (via Ryan O’Halloran of the Buffalo News). “If they were interested in doing that, they probably could have gotten some more from us or somebody else.”

With the Bills never truly being a contender to acquire Adams, attention turned to Cooper. As Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer notes, Beane and Co. touched base with the Browns before further conversations on a trade took place Monday (video link). That agreement (which saw Buffalo land Cooper and a sixth-round pick this year for a third-rounder and a seventh-round selection in 2026) was worked out one day later, a sign of how smoothly negotiations progressed.

Cooper stated he did not expect to be dealt, and Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports notes the Browns were not actively shopping him prior to the agreement being reached (video link). Rather, it was Buffalo’s “very aggressive” efforts to land Cooper which got the deal done. Indeed, Underdog Fantasy’s James Palmer notes the Browns got a higher trade price than they expected. He adds, however, that Cleveland did now view the five-time Pro Bowler has living up to the team’s standards through the opening portion of the season.

Cooper’s 41.7 yards per game in 2024 is the lowest mark of his career, a result of the Browns’ struggling offense but also a potential sign of decline. The 30-year-old will be nevertheless be expected to handle a heavy workload early on in his Buffalo tenure, given the lack of experienced pass-catchers on the Bills’ offense. After the team traded away Stefon Diggs and allowed Gabe Davis to depart in free agency, Cooper has the potential to command a notable target share with his latest team. Acclimating to the Bills’ playbook will take time, but no waiting period should be expected.

Head coach Sean McDermott said (via The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia) he expects Cooper to suit up against the Titans on Sunday. A full workload days after being dealt may not be realistic, but he will be positioned to contribute right away on a team once again looking to make a deep run amongst the AFC’s contenders.

Browns Trade Amari Cooper To Bills

October 15th, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

The receiver market is heating up. Hours after the Jets finalized their deal to acquire Davante Adams, the team that won Monday night’s game will also strike for a pass-catching weapon.

Amari Cooper is headed to Buffalo, with Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reporting the Bills and Browns have a deal in place. A recent report indicated Cleveland was not expected to unload Cooper, but after the Browns did not reach an extension with the accomplished wideout this offseason, he remains in a contract year. It appears that campaign with finish in New York. The teams have since announced the trade.

This deal includes the Browns receiving a third-round pick, though NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport classifies it as a pick-swap agreement. That will send a lower pick back to the Bills. Here is how the trade breaks down, via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero:

Bills receive:

Cooper
A 2025 sixth-round pick

Browns receive:

A 2025 third-round pick
2026 seventh-rounder

This is the second time Cooper has been traded in-season, with the 2018 campaign including the Raiders sending him to the Cowboys for a first-round pick. After re-signing the former top-five pick in 2020, the Cowboys dealt him to the Browns during the 2022 offseason. Cooper, 30, has produced in Cleveland, but with Deshaun Watson well off his Texans pace, he has not fared especially well this season. Given the QB upgrade he is set to see, Cooper is likely to see a production uptick soon.

Sean McDermott said last week Buffalo’s receiver situation had become a concern. The Bills’ plan of moving on from Stefon Diggs and not replacing him with a comparable wideout was passable early, but teams had limited the team’s receivers in recent weeks — a period that bottomed out with a woeful Josh Allen stat line in Houston. Even after the Bills prevailed over the Jets on Monday, they are loading up with one of the best wideouts on the market.

“Andrew Berry called me and told me what was going on,” Cooper said (via veteran insider Josina Anderson) of the trade. “As far as playing with Josh, I’ve always been fan of his game. I’m sure to see it up close and personal and play alongside him, I’m sure it’s going to be great.”

This Cooper swap comes after the Bills had monitored the Adams market. In on Adams from the beginning, Buffalo never appeared in pole position — or even in the front row — for the Raiders trade chip. It does not appear to be a coincidence that the Jets’ Adams trade went down shortly before this one. The Bills snaring Cooper gives them a weapon in an effort to hold off the Jets in the AFC East while taking away a potential Chiefs solution in the wake of Rashee Rice‘s season-ending injury.

Although Cooper is in his age-30 season and is averaging only 10.4 yards per catch this year (24/250), the Bills needed to include a third-round pick likely due to both his past production and the Browns having slashed his 2024 base salary to the veteran minimum. Cooper’s offseason restructure included an incentive package and his 2024 base dropping to $1.21MM.

That works out to just $783K to be transferred to the Bills’ payroll. The Browns, conversely, will take on $7.9MM in dead money this year and $22.6MM in dead cap in 2025. The total sum nearly matches Diggs’ receiver-record figure the Bills ate earlier this year.

Cooper’s route-running chops are on Diggs’ level, making it interesting Buffalo targeted the former No. 5 overall pick. Cooper has seven 1,000-yard seasons on his resume, with the most recent — 2023’s 1,250-yard showing with an aid from Joe Flacco — doubling as a career-high number. Cooper has never quite settled in as a top-tier receiver, but his credentials easily place him on the second rung. The refined pass catcher is a five-time Pro Bowler who has surpassed 1,100 yards in a season five times. Cooper totaled nine touchdowns in his first Browns season, doing so despite the team using Jacoby Brissett for 11 games and Watson (who re-emerged in concerning form) for the final six.

Turning 30 earlier this year, Cooper is several months younger than Diggs. The Bills had tired of Diggs’ antics, but they were beginning to miss his production. Drafted four rounds before Diggs in 2015, Cooper has not proven to be a locker room issue, as he has seamlessly transitioned to new teams via trade before.

The Alabama alum’s 2018 Dallas assimilation made a key difference in turning a sub.-500 Cowboys team into the NFC East champions. Cooper will now try to replace Diggs and help the Bills book a fifth straight division title. Set to anchor a receiving corps previously fronted by Khalil Shakir and second-round pick Keon Coleman, Cooper strengthens the Bills’ hopes of threatening the Chiefs’ AFC vice grip as well.

No stranger to splashy WR trades as the 2020 Diggs swap and the near-deal for Antonio Brown in 2019 shows, Bills GM Brandon Beane will attempt to equip his superstar quarterback with a weapon that will help him better maximize his age-28 season. Diggs moved the needle significantly in Allen’s development. With Allen much closer to a finished product now, the Bills are adding a similar playmaker. Buffalo received a 2025 second-round pick from Houston for Diggs, helping make parting with a Day 2 asset easier.

This deal comes barely two months after the Browns offered Cooper to the 49ers in a swap that would have sent Brandon Aiyuk to Cleveland. Aiyuk did not want to be traded to the Browns, who have struggled in the passing game for most of the decade despite obtaining Watson in 2022. Cooper, however, wanted to be traded to the 49ers, TheLandOnDemand.com’s Tony Grossi offers. That San Francisco proposal, which included second- and fifth-round picks as well, always made Cooper a trade chip to watch. With the Browns now 1-5 and Watson in terrible form, cashing out now with a Day 2 asset — which is more than the Browns initially gave up to acquire him from the Cowboys — can be viewed as a savvy move.

Cleveland sent just fifth- and sixth-round picks to Dallas to acquire Cooper in March 2022. The Cowboys have missed the midrange weapon’s presence, even as CeeDee Lamb has ascended to the All-Pro level. The Browns traded for Jerry Jeudy this offseason and gave the ex-Broncos first-rounder a three-year extension that brought more in guarantees ($41MM) than Cooper’s Cowboys-constructed pact (five years, $100MM, $40MM guaranteed at signing) did. The Browns also have Elijah Moore on their roster, but the ex-Jets second-rounder joins Cooper in being in a contract year.

Jeudy suddenly represents the Browns’ receiver centerpiece, as he is tied to the team through the 2027 season. Jeudy, however, is 0-for-4 in 1,000-yard seasons; Cooper is 7-for-9. A Bills team gunning for its first Super Bowl berth since 1993 will soon deploy Cooper as part of its championship effort, while the Browns — thanks to their historic Watson guarantee tying them to the embattled QB through 2026 — will pick up an asset as they reassess their passing game.

Browns WR Amari Cooper Does Not Expect To Be Traded

October 10th, 2024 at 9:27pm CST by Adam La Rose

With the Browns sitting at 1-4 on the year, it would not come as a surprise if the team looked to deal one or more veterans ahead of the trade deadline. Receiver Amari Cooper does not expect to be among them, though.

“I’m not thinking about that,” the pending free agent said about a trade (via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com). “I’m not thinking about us not winning some games. I’m thinking about us winning some games. So that doesn’t even cross my mind.”

Cabot recently detailed the financial reasons why a trade is not feasible in Cooper’s case. As part of his restructure worked out this offseason, the five-time Pro Bowler’s salary was reduced to $1.21MM. Absorbing a prorated portion of that figure would be simple for an acquiring team, but a trade would leave the Browns to eat the remainder of Cooper’s bonus while incurring a dead money charge of over $7.5MM.

That would make a move a costly one from Cleveland’s perspective. On the other hand, the team’s latest Deshaun Watson restructure has left the team with ample cap space to absorb the dead money, and Watson’s acquisition left the Browns without a first-round pick for three straight years. Recouping some draft capital via a Cooper offload would offer long-term benefits. It would, though, leave Cleveland without a receiver who delivered on expectations during his first two seasons with the team.

The former first-rounder racked up over 70 catches and 1,100 yards in 2022 and ’23, totaling 14 touchdowns during that span. While Cooper has endured a slow start to the current campaign, the Browns’ offense as a whole has struggled mightily. Watson is not in danger of being benched, which could very well leave Cleveland firmly out of the playoff running closer to the deadline.

In that case, it will be interesting to see how much of a market develops for Cooper amongst contending teams. Davante Adams remains the most high-profile wideout known to be on the market, although the list of teams in position to acquire him has shrunk. Other receivers like Christian Kirk, DeAndre Hopkins and Diontae Johnson could find themselves as targets, particularly if the Browns elect to retain Cooper for the rest of 2024.

Browns Not Expected To Trade Amari Cooper

October 6th, 2024 at 10:14pm CST by Rory Parks

The Chiefs lost WR Marquise Brown to injury before the 2024 season even started, and they may be without top wideout Rashee Rice for the rest of the year as well. The club could therefore be inclined to acquire a receiver prior to the November 5 trade deadline, and the Browns’ Amari Cooper was recently floated as a possibility for the defending Super Bowl champions.

However, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com says the Browns are not going to trade Cooper, either to Kansas City or to any other club. Cleveland’s 1-4 start to the season and the struggles of quarterback Deshaun Watson have led to speculation that the team could be a deadline seller, and since Cooper is a pending free agent, he profiles as a logical trade candidate.

That is especially true given Cooper’s slow start to the 2024 campaign; through four games, Cooper compiled just 16 catches for 148 yards and two scores, and both of his touchdowns and over half of his yardage came in a Week 3 loss to the Giants. That said, Watson is still heavily targeting Cooper, who had what would have been an 82-yard touchdown nullified by a questionable holding penalty in the Browns’ Week 4 loss to the Raiders. The five-time Pro Bowler has been targeted 37 times, and the Browns continue to hope that such volume will eventually translate to the high-end production that Cooper is capable of.

Plus, the Browns and Cooper agreed to a July restructure that saw most of the player’s base salary converted into a signing bonus and two void years added to his deal for cap purposes, and Cabot says there is “no way” Cleveland will absorb the dead money charge that a trade would create. Any trade partner would have to take on some of the bonus money that is still owed to Cooper, and at this point in the calendar, when many teams have limited cap space, that could prove to be a challenge.

Even if the Browns turn their season around to the point that they become deadline buyers, Cabot does not expect them to be in the market for some of the names that have popped up in early trade rumors, such as Davante Adams and DeAndre Hopkins. Although Cleveland was reportedly willing to trade Cooper for the 26-year-old Brandon Aiyuk this offseason, the team is not believed to be anxious to acquire a high-priced, thirty-something wideout.

Cooper, who is naturally anxious to capitalize on the exploding receiver market in the upcoming offseason, has been practicing with “renewed intensity” over the past several weeks, according to Cabot.

Chiefs Considering WR Acquisition?

September 30th, 2024 at 10:15pm CST by Ben Levine

With Rashee Rice potentially out for the season and Marquise Brown sidelined until at least the playoffs, the Chiefs may have to look for outside help at wide receiver. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport expects the Chiefs to “go out and look at options” at the position, with a trade being “at least” in consideration.

Rapoport notes that the Chiefs front office is generally “open minded” and considers every opportunity as they look to plug holes, so a trade would surely be a logical route for the WR-needy squad. Rapoport points to the team’s sudden acquisition of Kadarius Toney in 2022, which came as the organization was navigating a post-Tyreek Hill era.

One potential name that Rapoport points to is Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. The Titans are currently 0-3, and if they continue going the wrong way in the standings, there’s a good chance the veteran wideout will be available at the trade deadline. Rapoport also notes that popular trade candidate Amari Cooper could fit the Chiefs payroll thanks to his low base salary, but the reporter rejects the idea of Jaguars wideout Christian Kirk fitting into the cap sheet.

Rookie first-round WR Xavier Worthy got into a career-high 45 snaps yesterday and will likely join Travis Kelce as one of Patrick Mahomes‘ preferred targets moving forward. The team has also leaned on the likes of Justin Watson and JuJu Smith-Schuster for about half of their offensive snaps through the first month of the season, and Skyy Moore and Mecole Hardman got extended cameos yesterday after Rice was knocked out of the game. Rapoport notes that Brown could return to the Chiefs in time for the postseason, but it’s unlikely the offense will be hanging their hopes on the injured receiver.

As for Rice, Josina Anderson reports that the receiver is seeking “at least” a second opinion on his injured knee in an attempt to “gather additional information.” The Chiefs have also discussed “potential windows for surgery.” ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds that there “remains uncertainty” surrounding the extend of Rice’s injury, and more tests will be required before the team can set a definitive timetable.

Load More Posts