In 2020, the Washington Football Team was heavily linked to free-agent wide receiver Amari Cooper. In the first year of Ron Rivera’s tenure, Washington badly wanted to lure Cooper away from the Dallas Cowboys to pair with Terry McLaurin.
Cooper chose to return to Dallas on a five-year, $100 million extension and would remain with the Cowboys until 2022, when he was traded to the Cleveland Browns. Last October, the Browns traded Cooper to the Buffalo Bills. Cooper didn’t do much for Buffalo despite its desperate need for wide receiver help.
Now, Cooper is again a free agent and only 30 years old. The 10-year veteran will not turn 31 until June, so, Cooper should have plenty left in the tank. Could he make an excellent budget signing for the Commanders to bolster their wide receiver depth? Cooper would slot in behind Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel, giving Washington a potentially dominant veteran trio.
Don’t count it. Matthew Berry of NBC Sports spoke with an offensive coach for one of Cooper’s teams at the NFL combine, who told Berry that Cooper was “done.”
So much for that. Don’t take the former coach’s comment to Berry as sour grapes. Look at Cooper’s production last season after a solid 2023 season with the Browns. If the Bills, who traded for Cooper and still need receivers for MVP Josh Allen, chose not to retain Cooper, that speaks volumes.
Washington could use more receiver depth but will likely opt for a cheaper, faster option than Cooper, who will not require a lot of touches with McLaurin and Samuel ahead of them.
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