According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the Browns may not extend veteran WR Amari Cooper ahead of the draft but GM Andrew Berry hinted that the team may still do so afterward.
“Look, Coop’s a Pro Bowl-caliber receiver,” Berry told Cabot. “He’s played really well for us the past two years. He’s a strong presence in the locker room. We love him. So players like that, you want to make sure that you can retain as long as possible and we’ll work through all of that at the appropriate times.”
The Browns restructured his deal back in 2022, converting most of his $20 million salary into a signing bonus and adding two void years to save over $15 million in cap space. Cooper is set to make $20 million, with a cap charge of $23.77 million in 2024.
“One of the things we feel like is a competitive advantage for us has been our contract management philosophy,” Berry added. “We’re firm believers that in that space the best front offices and the best teams are proactive as opposed to reactionary in market dynamics. If you look at our history, whether it’s when we did Myles (Garrett) or when we traded for Coop’s contract really ahead of the shift in the free agent market, or David (Njoku) because of usage issues, it’s something realistically that we do a lot of.”
Cooper, 29, is a former No. 4 overall pick by the Raiders out of Alabama in the 2015 NFL Draft. The Raiders traded him to the Cowboys for a first-round pick midway through the 2018 season.
Cooper played out the final year of his four-year, $22.7 million contract, as well as his fifth-year option which cost Dallas $13,924,000 for 2019. He was set to be an unrestricted free agent when he signed a five-year, $100 million contract with the Cowboys in 2020.
The Browns then acquired him, along with a sixth-round pick, via a trade with Dallas that saw the Cowboys receive a fifth and sixth-round pick.
In 2023, Cooper appeared in 15 games for the Browns and caught 72 passes for 1,250 yards receiving (17.4 YPC) and five touchdowns.
We will have more news on Cooper as it becomes available.
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