The Buffalo Bills made a big move to improve their offense this season, landing Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper in a trade with the Cleveland Browns ahead of the deadline.
Cooper has made an impact in the passing game, catching a touchdown just days after joining the team and giving quarterback Josh Allen a trusted target. After missing the season finale to tend to a family matter, Cooper is back and ready to play in the wild-card playoff game on Sunday.
While his immediate future with the Bills is set, Cooper’s long-term prospects appear more uncertain. Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox pegged Cooper as the No. 11 free agent next offseason and predicted he could land with an AFC East rival for 2025.
Amari Cooper a ‘Sensible’ Target for Bills Rival
Knox identified the New England Patriots as a top suitor for Cooper, noting that the veteran wide receiver would add a new weapon for quarterback Drake Maye, who showed strong potential in his rookie season.
“Though the Patriots fired former Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt along with head coach Jerod Mayo, Cooper would still be a sensible target for New England. The Patriots need to put reliable pass-catchers around young quarterback Drake Maye,” Knox wrote.
Though the Patriots struggled on offense for much of the season, Maye offered a ray of hope for the future. The rookie quarterback completed 66.6% of his passes this season for 2,276 yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Knox added that Cooper could also choose to return to the Dallas Cowboys, though he could also return to Buffalo as the Bills are on track to have greater cap space than they have in the past few offseasons.
Amari Cooper’s Up-And-Down Season
Knox pointed out that Cooper “wasn’t very impressive” when it came to stats this season. He finished the year with 44 catches for 547 yards with four touchdowns, though spent half of the season on the offensively challenged Browns and then joined a Bills team dedicated to spreading out targets.
“It’s also worth noting that [Bills offensive coordinator] Joe Brady’s offense doesn’t force the ball to any one receiver, so it was never likely that Cooper would come in and have the sort of production we saw from Stefon Diggs last season,” Knox wrote. “Cooper had 1,250 receiving yards in 2023 and remains a savvy route-runner with strong hands and big-play ability.”
The Bills revamped their wide receiving corps prior to this season, trading No. 1 receiver Stefon Diggs and allowing No. 2 Gabe Davis to leave in free agency. The team replaced them with a mix of veterans and young talent, including rookie Keon Coleman.
The 31-year-old Cooper had a knack for big plays this season, catching a touchdown in a win over the Tennessee Titans less than a week after joining the team.
In a win over the San Francisco 49ers in early December that clinched a fifth-straight division title for the Bills, Cooper also made an on-the-fly decision to lateral to quarterback Josh Allen after catching a pass at the seven-yard line. Allen took the pitch from Cooper and scampered in for a touchdown.
