The Cleveland Browns made a monster trade for Amari Cooper, this tells me that Andrew Berry is ready to go all-in on the 2022 season.
Exactly three years after the Cleveland Browns made the monster trade to acquire Odell Beckham, Andrew Berry shook the world and finalized a deal to bring in Amari Cooper from the Dallas Cowboys.
Let me be clear, the situation and players are totally different. The Browns overpaid for Beckham who was known as a freelance player and had nagging injury issues. Cooper was likely to be cut, so the Browns got a steal, and he is known as one of the best route runners in the league.
The comment above is not to say OBJ is a bad wide receiver, it just means that Cooper is the perfect fit for the Browns and John Dorsey certainly reached to try and make Beckham work. Time will tell, but this one feels like a home run.
Not only did the Browns only give up a fifth-round pick for Cooper, but they also got a ton of flexibility. An elite number one receiver with a cap hit of $22 million locked up for the next three seasons. There is also the
potential to move a portion of the cap hit in 2022 to a bonus, which will give the organization even more flexibility.
I’ll never forget the day that the NFL network broke the news on OBJ, and believe me, fans should be even more excited for this one. With Berry appearing to be all in on the 2022 season, here are three other major takeaways from the trade that happened-on Saturday afternoon.
Cooper trade takeaway No. 3 for Cleveland Browns – Cap Space is needed
With the Cleveland Browns taking on the $20 million contract of Amari Cooper, the team is now only left with just over $3 million to spend in the 2022 offseason. With major holes at defensive line still existing, and a rookie class to sign, there is no way Berry can get this done.
Not to worry, the Browns have plenty of cap casualty candidates that can instantly open some money. These guys have been contributors to the organization, but likely won’t be worth the major cap hits moving forward.
Jarvis Landry and J.C. Tretter are likely the two easiest to consider. Landry would open up $14 million, and Tretter another $8.2 that could be extremely valuable especially to keep a guy like Jadeveon Clowney for another season.
Some believe Landry may restructure (which would actually have to be a new contract altogether), I honestly don’t see it, I think he is good as gone. Tretter likely has another year or two in him, but with Nick Harris ready to take over, there’s no need to carry the contract for another season.
Other easy targets may be Austin Hooper and Kareem Hunt. Hooper has been a disappointment from the beginning, he will save the Browns $19 million over the next two years (post-June 1), but he will still cost them over $10 million in dead money.
No one wants to see Hunt go, but let’s be realistic, no team in the NFL pays two running backs, and the Browns may be in a situation of paying three with the tender on D’Ernest Johnson. The $6.3 million that Hunt would free up could go to another hole on the roster that is far more important.
If all of these moves were made, the Browns can create another $38 million in cap space, before adjusting any current salaries on the roster into bonuses.
Cooper trade takeaway No. 2 for Cleveland Browns – Pick No. 13 could have flexibility
Another huge change for the Cleveland Browns with the addition of Amari Cooper is they now have some flexibility at pick no. 13. Before the trade I would have argued there is no way they can not draft a wide receiver.
If they somehow restructure Landry (doubtful) and sign a middle-tier wide receiver in free agency, you may see a scenario where the Browns don’t take a wide receiver until day three of the 2022 draft.
One scenario that has been starting to play out is the real chance that Clowney will go wherever the money is and doesn’t necessarily value the Browns. I can’t say that I blame him, but defensive end is now the biggest question mark on this roster.
If a pass rusher the organization loves falls to No. 13, they can draft an edge guy, and then go wide receiver still in round two, where they will still get an extremely talented guy. The only bad thing is you don’t know how the draft will go. Edge rushers will go early and often, and there is a chance the Browns will get stuck with someone they didn’t really want.
There’s still a chance Cleveland screws up the draft, but at least they have the flexibility to take the best player available at a few different positions other than wide receiver.
Cooper trade takeaway No. 1 for Cleveland Browns– Mayfield may not be “the guy”
With the addition of Amari Cooper, the rumors have begun swirling like crazy that the Cleveland Browns are interested in Deshaun Watson. Now, there are a ton of factors that go into this. Does Watson want to come to the Browns? Will Andrew Berry be willing to give up what it takes to get him? A lot to still play out.
However, it’s becoming apparent that this front office is not sold on Baker Mayfield being the starting quarterback in 2022. There has been conflict all of 2021 on whether the injury was really what help back Mayfield, or if his progression just completely stopped from the back half of the 2020 season.
I like Mayfield, I wouldn’t be made to see him get another shot, but with Berry making trades like this, he appears to be all in, and I believe one way or another he is going to find a replacement for Mayfield.
Watson may be option one, but a guy like Derek Carr, or even Jimmy Garoppolo may very well be option B or C.
We’ve seen it before, when the rumors start that the organization is looking to upgrade at the position, it’s hard to come back from.
Can you blame Mayfield for now wanting to play in a town that looked to trade him? Nope. But, can you blame Berry for going out and getting a guy that can win it all for you? Absolutely not.