The Cleveland Browns have made many puzzling trades over the last few years, but they appeared to have gotten one over on the Dallas Cowboys after former Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper had some of the finest seasons of his career sporting the trademark orange helmet.
Some fans were rightfully peeved when he was traded away to the Buffalo Bills for a package headlined by a late third-round pick. However, that anger was lessened by the fact that Cooper severely underperformed alongside Josh Allen. Recent developments make the trade look even better in retrospect.
Cooper had signed with the Las Vegas Raiders, the franchise with whom he had many of his best years, just 10 days ago, but he has since reversed course and retired. Meanwhile, the third-round pick the Browns received from Buffalo in exchange for someone who was on his way out of the NFL was put to good use on quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Even though Gabriel has had mixed reviews in the preseason, getting a player like that for someone who was on the back-nine like Cooper is a serious victory in negotiation for Andrew Berry and the front office.
Former Browns WR Amari Cooper retires after joining Raiders
Cooper has five Pro Bowls, over 10,000 yards, and 64 touchdowns to his name in the pros, but the former No. 4 pick was clearly on his last legs in Buffalo. Cooper played eight games with the Bills and didn't even manage to get 300 yards receiving, which is on par with his per-game averages from his stint in Cleveland.
Even though the Browns have perhaps the worst wide receiver room in the league, the fact that Cooper would have likely been counted on in a featured role before disappearing from the plan of attack right before the season would have been an added bit of chaos that this franchise does not need.
Even with all of the Shedeur Sanders outside hullabaloo, Gabriel won the backup job and instilled enough confidence in this team to trade away Kenny Pickett. If the Browns land a long-term backup for years to come, irrespective of what the 2026 NFL Draft looks like, this trade is a win.
It's sad to see a player who was as amazing as Cooper end his career with such a whimper, but Browns fans should be mildly pleased that his quick decline didn't end up further impacting Cleveland's 2025 plans.