The drive from Cleveland to Orchard Park is a little under three hours, and wide receiver Amari Cooper made the trip by himself on Tuesday. It was an 鈥渋ntrospective鈥 drive, said Cooper, the newest member of the Buffalo Bills.
The trade for Cooper caused a major splash, but it had been in the works since Sunday night.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane said Wednesday that he had a number of conversations with the Browns about Cooper. The Bills and Browns agreed to a trade on Tuesday afternoon, but Beane felt confident prior to that.
鈥淚 would say by Monday afternoon I felt there was a fairly decent chance we could do this with Cleveland,鈥 Beane said on Wednesday. 鈥淭hey (the Browns) had played their game Sunday. I had a conversation with them Sunday evening and a couple more on Monday, maybe even a couple hours before the game (against the Jets).鈥
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Cooper reacted quickly, too, getting in the car and making the drive.
鈥淚t kind of felt like a long drive to my first day of school,鈥 Cooper said. 鈥淪o, yeah, it was a lot to think about.鈥
Now that he鈥檚 arrived, Cooper has a lot of learning to do.
Bills coach Sean McDermott said聽Wednesday that it was too early to determine if Cooper will play Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. Cooper added that he 鈥(doesn鈥檛) really have an expectation right now that I can chalk up to being realistic until I go through the week.鈥
Said McDermott: 鈥淚鈥檒l be checking in with the offensive staff and just seeing how he鈥檚 picking up things. You know, like anything, you want to get them worked in as quickly as we can. But there鈥檚 also moving parts that there鈥檚 other players that we have to factor in as well and who鈥檚 going to play where and who gets the ball.鈥
The last time Cooper was traded midseason, from the Raiders to the Cowboys in 2019, he had the benefit of a bye week to catch up to his fellow Dallas receivers. This time, that鈥檚 not the case.
鈥淚t鈥檚 uncharted territory for me,鈥 Cooper said. 鈥溾 So, this is definitely new for me, but at the end of the day, it鈥檚 just football. You know, I think I鈥檓 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, compete in the running game.鈥
Cooper has a previous relationship with Bills wide receivers coach Adam Henry, who coached Cooper in Dallas. Plus, Bills quarterback Josh Allen is doing all he can to get Cooper up to speed, saying he鈥檇 spend extra time with his newest receiver.
Cooper is looking forward to working with Allen.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know him personally, obviously, I will in the next 11 games or so,鈥 Cooper said. 鈥淏ut as far as the way he plays, I mean, it鈥檚 phenomenal every time I turn on the television and watch him play. You know, he plays with a lot of grit, a lot of hustle. He plays hard, and obviously he鈥檚 been, you know, one of the top quarterbacks in the game for a while now.鈥
Cooper had 24 catches on 53 targets for 250 yards and two touchdowns prior to the trade. He鈥檚 had some drops this season, but Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson also has struggled. Beane is aware of the drops, and he was not overly concerned.
鈥淚t鈥檚 called receiver. You want them all to receive them,鈥 Beane said. 鈥淏ut that happens. Everybody鈥檚 got their strengths and weaknesses at the position. And I would say over his career, though, the positives have far outweighed (the negatives).鈥
Now, Cooper will be woven in with the rest of the Bills receiver room.
Like McDermott on Tuesday, Beane on Wednesday was quick to express his confidence in the Buffalo wide receiver room, even after making the trade.
鈥淟isten, I鈥檓 always looking,鈥 Beane said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 mean I didn鈥檛 like the group. I can鈥檛 make a team like Cleveland do the deal. If we didn鈥檛 do this deal for him, I still like our group. It鈥檚 not anything there.鈥
Beane said it was too early in the season to tell exactly how the Bills receiver room would have panned out separate from Cooper, but Cooper鈥檚 contract fit with the Bills鈥 tight cap situation.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why this move made so much sense for us with where his salary is and where our salary cap is,鈥 Beane said. 鈥淪eparate of Amari, I really do like our guys in the mix. It鈥檚 early in the season. Just like an O-line, you鈥檙e still forming things. We had so many new pieces in that receiver room other than (Khalil) Shakir, so in fairness to those guys, we鈥檙e still early in the season just getting going.鈥
Beane mentioned more than once the pre-draft visit he had with Cooper, which left quite an impression. Beane recalled Cooper getting to the workout well before Beane, and having everything set up nicely to show his routes before going over film with the Bills. It was Cooper鈥檚 football IQ that especially struck Beane at the time.
鈥淗e鈥檚 very football smart. He鈥檚 a quiet guy,鈥 Beane said. 鈥淏ut he loves ball, and he鈥檚 very, very smart.鈥
Cooper seemed reserved during his introductory news conference, but that doesn鈥檛 mean he鈥檚 not excited about his next chapter.
鈥淭he goal of playing in the NFL is to win,鈥 Cooper said, 鈥淪o to come in and be on a winning team, it鈥檚 obviously a good feeling, not a bad feeling.鈥
Injury report
Eight Bills players were listed as limited in Wednesday鈥檚 practice as the team began to prepare for Tennessee. Every player participated. Coming off Monday night鈥檚 game against the Jets, the Bills held only a walk-through practice, so Thursday鈥檚 injury report will be a better indication of the team鈥檚 injury situation.
Limited were running backs James Cook (toe) and Reggie Gilliam (hamstring), defensive tackles Ed Oliver (hamstring) and DaQuan Jones (foot), receiver Mack Hollins (shoulder), tight end Dalton Kincaid (collarbone), linebacker Terrel Bernard (pectoral) and cornerback Taron Johnson (forearm).
News sports reporter Mark Gaughan contributed to this report.