This offseason, Cleveland wide receiver Amari Cooper staged the first contract hold-out of his career after he watched multiple wide receivers – including those who are 30 years old and older – sign multi-year deals that paid more money than he was scheduled to receive.
Cleveland renegotiated his contract, giving the wide receiver a raise, guaranteed money for the season, and incentives that could make him among the top 10 highest-paid wide receivers in the game.
What Cleveland did not do is extend his deal beyond this season, making this a crucial year for the Browns top receiving option to make the case he’s worthy of signing another long-term deal.
Analyst Tyvis Powell does not believe the notion that Cooper is disinterested in playing after not receiving a long-term extension and having a myriad of trade rumors swirl about the Browns offering Cooper up in exchange for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Instead, Powell claimed that another factor is at play while speaking on the “Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show” on Tuesday (via X).
“I’m not buying the fact that he’s disinterested,” Powell said, adding, “It look like right now he lost a step.”
Is #Browns WR Amari Cooper disintrested? @1Tyvis says he's not buying it, BUT.. it could be something else#DawgPound | https://t.co/UhotDWjXiu pic.twitter.com/uscaxKG5Kr
— Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show (@ultCLEsports) September 17, 2024
Powell explained that Cooper’s next contract relies solely on his ability to show he’s still a top-tier wide receiver in the league.
Through two games this season, he’s not proved his value for the organization as he’s caught only five of his 17 targets for 27 yards.
The analyst also suggested that his decline could indeed be part of the reason Cleveland looked to trade Cooper this year.
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