Amari Cooper swapped the Dallas Cowboys for the Cleveland Browns in a trade back on March 16, and now the four-time Pro Bowler is revealing the details.
The move didn’t come as a shock to Cowboys fans, as Cooper’s large $20 million salary had him pegged as a likely trade target entering the offseason. However, the return for Cooper did surprise some, as the Cowboys essentially got a sixth-rounder for the receiver as both teams swapped fifth-round picks.
Cooper has been relatively quiet on social media and in public about the move, but the 27-year-old had his first official press conference as a Browns player on April 20, which gave reporters an opportunity to ask about his change of scenery and how the trade from Dallas went down.
“I wouldn’t say I just wanted to leave, but at the same time, it’s never personal, it’s just business and that’s part of the business of being in this league,” Cooper said. “Things like that happen all the time, players get cut, players get traded. There’s no player in the league who’s still in the league from 30 years ago. It all comes to an end at some point. With that said, I am excited about this new chapter, and I embrace it. I look forward to the future here.”
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How Cooper Found Out About Trade to Browns
Cooper’s arrival in Cleveland is a big addition, especially considering that the Browns former No. 1 receiver Jarvis Landry is still a free agent and doesn’t appear to be returning.
Cooper has amassed over 7000 receiving yards in his eight NFL seasons per Pro Football Reference, with 46 touchdowns to boot. He took Pro Bowl honors with both the Cowboys and the Oakland Raiders, and should be entering the athletic prime of his career as he hits his late 20s.
But even a player of Cooper’s caliber gets surprised in the Internet age of instant news, which is exactly what happened when the news dropped. Cooper was apparently asleep when the news dropped and his friends’ texts were the things that informed him.
“My friends called me right away. I woke up, just saw a whole bunch of text messages and stuff like that,” Cooper said during his press conference. “Guys were like, ‘Man, you’re lucky,'” Cooper said. “Some of my former teammates. I was like, ‘What?’ Then I checked social media, the news and found out that information… I was happy. I was elated.”
Cowboys Speak on Cooper’s Departure
Interestingly enough, Cooper’s comments on his trade to Cleveland came a day after Cowboys CEO and vice president Stephen Jones spoke on the matter to 105.3 “The Fan.”
Jones touched on Dallas’ offseason and teased that the team is still active in free agency, but also tried to explain that the Cowboys other receivers like Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb could make up for the absence of Cooper’s production.
“Sometimes you let a player move on and it allows other players to step up in a bigger role,” Jones said. “I know Amari [Cooper] was a great player for us, but this might allow CeeDee and Michael to step up and play a bigger role. And who knows what their upside may be?”
Sure, Gallup and Lamb could produce more now that Cooper is no longer accounting for a large amount of targets, but at the end of the day, it just comes off as the Cowboys refusing to admit that the team is better with Cooper on it, salary or otherwise.
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Ex-Cowboys Star Amari Cooper Breaks Silence on Trade to Browns