The Cleveland Browns are already at the point in their season where they are questioning their current roster. It looks as if they have already made contract moves to make the trade deadline more manageable. The Cleveland Browns trade rumors are already swirling. Sports Illustrated reported in July that The Browns and Amari Cooper restructured his contract. 18.79 million dollars of Cooper’s contract was converted to a signing bonus, making his 2024 salary wholly guaranteed. It also added dummy years to the tail end of his contract, allowing him to ease the dead cap space hit for 2025 from $15 million to $7.5 million for 2025 and 2026.
What does this do for the Cleveland Browns? The ease of the dead cap space hit makes it easier to trade Amari Cooper with taxing the future. The signing bonus made Cooper a precious trade deadline asset for a team looking to add a productive veteran Wide receiver.
Since Cleveland already paid most of Cooper’s 2024 salary, if a team were to acquire him at the trade deadline, it would only cost that team $605,000 for the remainder of the season. That is pennies on the dollar for a player of Cooper’s caliber.
The #Browns converted all but $1.21M of WR Amari Cooper's 2024 salary into signing bonus, making him an extremely affordable trade candidate.
Now: $941,111
Deadline: $605,000— Spotrac (@spotrac) September 30, 2024
Why the Cleveland Browns Should Trade Cooper
The Cleveland Browns are off to an incredibly rough start to 2024. They currently sit with a 1-3 record, and fans are already calling for a quarterback change. Deshaun Watson has never been able to replicate what he did in Houston since he came to Cleveland. What do they do now?
The Browns are in a tough place due to the nature of Deshaun Watson’s contract. This means they must get creative to save money and recoup a great return on investment. Plenty of teams could use a legitimate upgrade to their receiving corps. Cleveland should dangle their star wide receiver for draft compensation.
Cooper set a career-high in receiving yards in 2023(1,250 yards) while playing in just 15 games. He has also scored at least five touchdowns in every one of his nine seasons leading up to 2024. Cooper is a savvy route runner with reliable hands and good speed. The Browns still have Elijah Moore, Jerry Jeudy, and Cedric Tillman on their roster after a Cooper exit. With Cooper’s price and production matched with the current Cleveland Browns roster, it would be foolish not to shop Cooper.
Potential Landing Spots
Kansas City Chiefs
The first team that comes to mind that could use a wide receiver upgrade is the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs have drafted the position well, taking Rashee Rice in the 2023 draft, Patrick Mahomes top target, and Xavier Worthy in the 2024 class, who has already shown how dynamic his speed can be for this offense. Unfortunately, Rashee Rice went down with a likely ACL tear in Week 4. Adding Cooper is potentially an upgrade to Rice. The offense would hum along seamlessly, and Mahomes would still have a top wide receiver target.
"If he's going to be out for an extended period of time. … The Chiefs have no choice. They will have to go get another high-end receiver."@DanOrlovsky7 on how Rashee Rice's injury impacts the Chiefs ✍️ pic.twitter.com/7FuFTAXfze
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) September 30, 2024
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers have been the surprise of the 2024 season with a 3-1 record through four weeks. Justin Fields seems to be off and running with the starting quarterback job, and the running game is playing well. George Pickens finally showed some wiggle in Week 3, although the rest of the wide receivers in Pittsburgh are backups at best. They currently roster Van Jefferson as their number two receiver, with Calvin Austin III in the slot. Rookie Roman Wilson has yet to see action, but the Steelers may want to add now.
The defense is playing at a high level, and the Steelers should be looking to build on this roster. Adding Cooper would be a no-brainer for a playoff push this year, and if he can build chemistry with Fields, resigning Cooper would be a brilliant idea. Cooper and Pickens as your top two receivers is a quarterback’s dream.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills dealt away Stefon Diggs this past off-season to the Texans and added Curtis Samuel in free agency and Keon Coleman in the 2024 draft. Both players have been off to a relatively slow start. Yet the Bills still look like one of the better teams in the AFC, just short on weapons. Adding a wide receiver with Cooper’s route-running ability would make Josh Allen smile from ear to ear. The move would also make Buffalo that much more of a contender.
With the Browns season already looking like a failure, they should start making decisions that fit their timeline and pocket. Trading away Cooper for draft compensation should be the top priority for the Cleveland Browns.
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