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'A fresh beginning, a new start' | Amari Cooper reacts to joining the Bills

Oct 16, 2024 at 06:38 PM

Dorian Alerte

Contributing Correspondent

Following their AFC East win against the Jets on Monday night, Bills general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott had a busy Tuesday as they acquired five-time Pro Bowl WR Amari Cooper from the Cleveland Browns.

"Obviously he's a well-respected guy for what he's done in the league as long as he's been," Beane said. "He's very football smart. He's a quiet guy... but he loves ball, and he's very, very smart… very good route runner. Smooth. He can stretch the field vertically."

At Wednesday's walkthrough practice, the Bills welcomed their newest teammate to Buffalo.

"Yeah, happy to have him here, pleasant to be around," McDermott said. "It's been, as you'd expect, kind of process-driven with him getting here last night and then getting into some meetings with the coaches and again this morning… Just more than anything, just trying to get his feet firmly planted in the ground and adjusting to the terminology that we use."

Cooper, who was drafted in the 2015 NFL Draft by the then Oakland Raiders, previously played for the Dallas Cowboys and started this season on the Cleveland Browns. Through five games with the Browns, Cooper caught 24 catches for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Despite his quiet demeanor, Cooper said that he is excited about the opportunity to play, equating Tuesday's drive from Cleveland to Orchard Park like driving to his first day of school.

"It's just that feeling of, having a fresh beginning, a new start, a blank canvas that you get to control your destiny," Cooper said.

Bills QB Josh Allen also expressed his excitement about adding Cooper to the offense.

"Very excited about him," Allen said. "I've been a big fan of his for a very long time, very smart, very detailed, and the way that he runs his routes, and I think he can help us a lot."

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Allen spoke about what makes Cooper a great compliment to the offense. The trait that Beane, McDermott and Allen focused on was Cooper's route running.

"I think, the route running that he possesses, the ability to separate from defenders, I think his contested catch ability is through the roof," Allen said. "You throw that into a room with a guy like Keon and a guy like Mack Hollins, two other guys that are very good at contested catches. And then you have Khalil and Curtis underneath. Able to mix him around… Just getting him involved in this offense and just see what we can do with him."

McDermott said that he is not sure whether Cooper would play on Sunday afternoon's game against the Titans, but that he would check with the offensive coaching staff to monitor his progress in learning the offense.

"Like anything, you want to get them worked in as quickly as we can," McDermott said. "Sometimes with wide receivers, there's different skill sets and sometimes there are overlapping skill sets and so you have to figure the pieces out and making sure, again, we're able to get into a rhythm, maintain our rhythm, and more than anything, Josh is comfortable with everything."

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When asked if he will be able to play on Sunday, Cooper said he did not know if he would play five days after being traded. He was previously midseason from the Raiders to the Cowboys during the 2018 season, but he had the benefit of the bye week to get up to speed.

"It's uncharted territory for me," Cooper said. "This is definitely new for me, but at the end of the day, at the end of the day, is just football. I think I'm a pretty cerebral guy, at least cerebral enough to learn the playbook as fast as I can, so I can go out there and get lined up and just run routes, catch the ball, get open, you know, compete in the running game."

Cooper will be studying the playbook as much as he can to get up to speed. He mentioned having played with receiver's coach Adam Henry when he played with the Cowboys helps his transition to learn the offense.

"It helps a lot with comfortability, I would say, seeing a familiar face, especially having that face be your coach, the guy you're going to interact with on a day-to-day basis," Cooper said. "And I know him, I played for him for two years."

Cooper has seven 1,000 yard receiving seasons during his time in the NFL, and said being himself has helped him be successful in every location that he has been in.

"Just being me," Cooper said. "I've been playing this game for a long time. Obviously, long before the NFL. I think I have a good feel for the game. Just got to go out there and play, like I said before, it's just football, you know, go out there, know your assignment, and then just play freely."

Cooper also expressed plenty of enthusiasm about the chance to team up with Allen this season.

"It's phenomenal every time I turn on the television and watch him play," Cooper said of his new QB. "He plays with a lot of grit, a lot of hustle. He plays hard, and obviously he's been one of the top quarterbacks in the game for a while now. So just to be able to play with him and experience that in person, think is going to be real cool."