The Cleveland Browns are acquiring wide receiver Amari Cooper and a sixth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft from the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a fifth- and sixth-round selection, ESPN reported Saturday.
The trade can’t be official until Wednesday, the first day of the NFL league year. Cooper was due $20 million in fully guaranteed money on March 20.
The Browns are in need of a top-tier wide receiver after releasing Odell Beckham Jr. in November. Jarvis Landry led the team in catches (52), fellow wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones had a club-best 597 receiving yards while tight end David Njoku had four touchdown receptions.
Speaking of Landry, multiple media outlets reported that the Browns have granted the five-time Pro Bowl receiver permission to seek a trade.
Landry, 29, is set to earn $14.3 million in 2022 should he remain with the team. He carries a cap hit of $16,379,412 and a dead cap value of $1.5 million, per Spotrac.
Cooper, 27, caught 68 passes for 865 yards and a career high-tying eight touchdowns in 15 games last season with the Cowboys. His totals in receptions and receiving yards trailed team leader CeeDee Lamb (79, 1,102 yards), while Cooper’s touchdown total matched tight end Dalton Schultz for the club lead.
Fellow wideout Michael Gallup is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on March 16. His availability for the start of next season is in question after he tore his ACL on Jan. 2.
A four-time Pro Bowl selection, Cooper has 517 catches for 7,076 yards with 46 touchdowns in 108 career games with the then-Oakland Raiders and Cowboys. He was selected by the Raiders with the fourth overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft.
The Cowboys acquired Cooper in October 2018, sending a first-round pick in the 2019 draft to the Raiders.
