The Browns have acquired four-time Pro Bowler WR Amari Cooper in a trade Wednesday with the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for their 2022 fifth-round pick and a swapping of 2022 sixth-round picks.
Cooper, a seven-year veteran, has totaled 7,076 receiving yards, 517 receptions and 46 touchdowns since he was drafted out of Alabama with the fourth overall pick of the 2015 draft. He was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019 and has scored six or more touchdowns in five seasons in the league.
"Amari Cooper has been a consistent playmaker in this league," head coach Kevin Stefanski said. "He is a great route runner. His skillset fits perfectly with what we want to do on offense. On top of that, he is all about that work. He's a team player to his core. We are excited that Amari is a Cleveland Brown."
Last season, Cooper compiled 68 receptions for 865 yards and eight touchdowns. He's totaled 70 or more receptions and 1,000 or more yards in five of his seven seasons in the NFL and is one of six receivers since the AFL/NFL merger in 1970 to score five or more touchdowns in each of his first seven seasons.
Cooper, who has missed only five games his whole career, turns 28 in June and will be a well-experienced veteran capable of providing an immediate impact in the Browns' passing game.
"I am really excited about joining the Cleveland Browns," he said. "They have a passionate fanbase that I can't wait to play in front of. Winning is the goal, that is what it is all about. That's why we play the game. I'm excited to come in, get to work and contribute to winning."
A native of Miami, Florida, Cooper was a record-setting receiver at Alabama and amassed 3,463 yards and 31 touchdowns across three seasons. He led the Crimson Tide as a freshman in 2012 with 59 receptions and 1,000 yards and continued his stardom all the way through his junior year before declaring for the NFL draft. He left Tuscaloosa as the school's leader in receiving yards and touchdowns in both the career and single-season categories. Coopers' junior year, when he scored 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2014, led him to win the Biletnikoff Award, given to the best receiver in the nation, and land as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.
Cooper was drafted by the Oakland Raiders and was traded midway through his fourth NFL season in 2018 to the Cowboys. He ranks 11th in the league among wide receivers in the last three seasons with 3,168 yards and is tied for 11th with 21 touchdowns.
After the trade, the Browns now hold eight picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. They own all of their own picks in Rounds 1-4 and will have an additional compensatory pick in Round 3. They also own Lions' pick in Round 4 after they traded their 113th (fourth round) and 257th (seventh) overall picks to the Lions for a 2021 fifth-round pick (153) and a 2022 fourth-round pick. They also possess the Cowboys' sixth-round pick — instead of their own — and the Lions' seventh-round pick from a trade to swap 2022 seventh-round picks and QB David Blough.
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