After spending the second half of 2024 with the Buffalo Bills, wide receiver Amari Cooper is now an impending free agent and will seek a new contract. Buffalo sent a third-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for Cooper’s services, and the wide receiver didn’t provide the best return on investment. Playing through a wrist injury, the former top-five pick recorded just 20 receptions for 297 yards and two touchdowns during his eight regular season games with the club. He didn’t do much in the playoffs, either, recording just six receptions for 41 yards in Buffalo’s three-game postseason run.
Despite this underwhelming production, Spotrac believes the Amari Cooper will earn a two-year, $28 million contract on the open market. This is a sizable contract for an aging receiver, and based on his lack of success in Buffalo, the Bills might not be willing to give up that type of money for the Alabama product. If he leaves the team, don’t be surprised if a receiver-needy team like the Los Angeles Chargers, Carolina Panthers, or Jacksonville Jaguars decides he’s worth the money.
Amari Cooper’s Projected Contract Could Price Him Out of Buffalo
The Los Angeles Chargers have one of the worst wide receiver situations in football, and head coach Jim Harbaugh knows it. After trying and failing to acquire wide receiver Diontae Johnson multiple times throughout the season, Los Angeles charged into the playoffs with second-round pick Ladd McConkey and the inconsistent Quentin Johnston as their starting receivers. McConkey played phenomenally, but Johnston and the rest of the no-name depth chart couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain.
Justin Herbert did not play well against the Houston Texans but was considerably better than his box score numbers suggest. The team must find at least one more reliable receiver in the offseason, and they have the financial resources to give Amari Cooper a respectable contract. The team has over $63 million in projected cap space and can get more by cutting Joey Bosa. Cooper might not be the biggest name on the market, but signing him instead of someone like Tee Higgins would allow the team to spend big on Kansas City Chiefs impending free agent Trey Smith.
Other Fits
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen will likely return for the 2025 season. Still, the longtime veteran only has one year left on his deal, struggled to stay on the field, and openly contemplated retirement after the season. Thielen is much closer to the end of his career than the beginning, and this team needs a proven veteran to help support the young cast of playmakers. Amari Cooper might not be a 1,000-yard receiver at this stage in his career, but the veteran could be perfect in a supporting role. Playing situationally, Cooper could help youngsters like Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker develop into longtime staples in the NFL.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have a future star in 2024 first-round pick wide receiver Brian Thomas. However, they could use another supporting set of hands for quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Christian Kirk is a probable cut candidate and the Gabriel Davis contract never made sense for anyone other than Trent Baalke. Even if he’s not the player he once was, the present-day version of Amari Cooper is better than Davis, and the team could easily justify meeting the wide receiver’s contract demands.
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