Amari Cooper is self-reflective and analytical. He loves playing Chess … maybe as much as he loves playing football. He is, some old-fashioned coaches might say, “Too smart for his own good.” So when the former Dallas Cowboys receiver claims to be completely unaware of the trade rumors that buzz around him? I’ve visited with him too many times, observed him too many times, praised and critiqued him too many times … to believe him.
The Cleveland Browns play the Washington Commanders in Week 5, and with the Cowboys not playing until “Sunday Night Football” in Pittsburgh, this outing is a Cowboys Nation draw. The Commanders are 3-1 and lead the NFC East, where Dallas is 2-2. Meanwhile, through four games, the 1-3 Browns have struggled on offense, as they have yet to score over 20 points on offense. … with the Amari Roller-Coaster very much involved.
Coming off a career-high 1,250 receiving yards in 2023, receiver Cooper has been especially disappointing to start the season. With just 148 receiving yards through four games, Cooper has been the subject of trade rumors in the final year of his contract.
When asked about the rumors on Thursday, Cooper gave what some are portraying an a “candid response.” “No, I’m not aware of it,” Cooper said. “Usually if I don’t have a good game, I try to stay off of social media. That’s one thing that I’ve learned, because I can be kind of sensitive about the way that I play, and just being on social media, there’s nothing about hiding that. So no, I haven’t seen any of it.” There is a bold lie tucked into that paragraph. And there is a deep truth buried in there, too. The Amari I know is hyper-aware of his surroundings. He is obviously aware that Cleveland altered his contract this week ($20 million for one final year in 2024) in a way that makes a trade-dump palatable to his new team. He is surely aware that there are those in Cowboys Nation who think Dallas – the team that trade-dumped him to Cleveland two years ago – should bring him back.
If the Cowboys do such a thing, I’ll report it. … just as two years ago we reported why the Cowboys were done with him. And “sensitive” is a key word for Amari to use to describe himself … as it is a synonym of sorts for “shrinkage,” the phrase we utilized at the time.
Last week, Cooper had four catches for 35 yards against the Raiders. One of Cooper’s targets ended up bouncing off his chest into a Las Vegas defender for an interception. Folks advocating for an acquisition of Amari must’ve not watched this outing, as the alligator-arm interception and the disinterest in hustling and in blocking show up time and time again on film. …
All the reasons Dallas got rid of him in the first place. Yes, introspective Amari Cooper knows all about these issues. He lives them. And he knows that teams that pay attention are aware of “shrinkage,” too. He lives that as well.
