The Buffalo Bills are trading wide receiver Amari Cooper

The Buffalo Bills have made a move to help their struggling wide receiver room by acquiring Amari Cooper via trade from the Cleveland Browns. The deal was first reported by Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports.

Ian Rapoport came in with the details Cleveland will receive Buffalo's third pick while the Bills will receive the Browns' sixth-round pick, but Buffalo will have the same number of picks as it did earlier in the day. Buffalo also gets a seventh-rounder for 2026. The value is equivalent to a late-round compensatory third-round pick or an early fourth-round pick, depending on where the teams land.

Cooper was on last week's short list of receivers we think the Bills could trade for. Here's what I wrote back then:

Why Amari Cooper makes sense for the Bills
Cooper has averaged more than 48 yards per game in every season of his 10-year career and has totaled 1,000 receiving yards in five of the last six years and eight seasons. He is a consistent touchdown scorer. He's played with some bad QBs and clearly wants out of Cleveland. He is in the final year of his contract and is making the NFL minimum after Cleveland restructured his contract so any team trading for him won't cost much cap space.

Buffalo Rumblings author emeritus Dan Lavoie told me, “Cooper is as automatic as it gets. I know he turned 30 this year, but the guy is as automatic as it gets. In nine years he averaged 80 catches, 1,134 yards and 7 touchdowns.”

The move should remove Mack Hollins from the starting lineup once Cooper gets up to speed. Hollins has led the Bills in snaps at receiver, but is the poster child of a group that really can't separate itself from defenders outside of Khalil Shakir.

When we visited in early October, Cooper appeared to be the Bills' best choice financially from the get-go, as they were strapped for salary cap space. The Browns paid Cooper's money upfront for the season, leaving Buffalo only paying the league minimum.

Amari Cooper makes a lot more sense
The Cleveland Browns I certainly haven't given up on the 2024 season, but wide receiver Amari Cooper might have given up. It appears he's on the right track in Cleveland and could use a change of scenery.

The Browns have already restructured Cooper's contract so that he now makes the NFL league minimum after receiving a $19 million bonus earlier this year. Cleveland also has enough cap space to absorb Cooper's big dead cap hit if they trade him. Essentially, the Browns have already laid the groundwork for this move.

We've been covering Amari Cooper for so long that we even have a 2015 NFL Draft scouting report for you!