The Cleveland Browns caught lightning in a bottle with backup QB Joe Flacco late last season, but all that magic now seems long gone.
Cleveland is 1-3 and scrambling to find a solution to a lackluster offense that can’t pass block or convert on explosive plays downfield with any regularity.
The Browns restructured the final year of Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper’s $100 million contract to bring the base salary down to the league minimum of $1.21 million, which will allow them to more easily move the 30-year-old wideout ahead of the NFL’s November 5 trade deadline. And that’s exactly the splash move that multiple national analysts predict is coming at some point over the next month.
“If Cleveland continues to slide, Amari Cooper could be an attractive option because his contract restructure has him playing on a minimum base salary,” Jeremy Fowler of ESPN wrote on Wednesday, October 2.
Amari Cooper, Deshaun Watson Connection Has Looked Off All Season
Cooper earned Pro Bowl honors in 2023 on the strength of 72 catches for 1,250 yards and 5 TDs as the Browns cycled through five different starting quarterbacks across 17 regular-season games.
However, his play has dipped this season, which Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report suggested on Wednesday could be due to a lack of chemistry with Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson. As a result, Cooper approaches Week 5 as the league’s fourth-most likely trade candidate based on Knox’s projections.
“The 30-year-old has jumped up our list for a couple of reasons. For one, the injury-plagued Browns fell to 1-3 on Sunday, and their chances of turning things around appear slim,” Knox wrote. “Secondly, things simply aren’t clicking between Cooper and Deshaun Watson this season. The receiver has topped 40 receiving yards only once, and he’s already been credited with six drops through four games. He had another big one during Sunday’s loss in Las Vegas that turned into a Raiders interception.”
Knox noted the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Commanders as likely trade suitors for Cooper should Cleveland ultimately decide to flip him for an asset — either player or future draft pick — and move on.
Regardless of who is most responsible for the Browns’ woes on offense, one thing is clear — they have among the worst passing attacks in all of football.
Cleveland ranks 29th in total passing yards through four weeks with just 606 total, which averages out to 151.5 yards per game. Watson ranks 31st in the league with a QBR of 23.7 and has completed just 61.5% of his passes for 4 TDs and 3 INTs.
The offensive line has been horrendous this season, allowing opposing defenses to sack Watson 19 times. Part of that is due to injury, as the team’s pair of starting offensive tackles in Week 1 of last year — Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin — have played just one game between them.
No one else on the offensive line has a player grade in the top half of the league at his respective position, save for guard Wyatt Teller, according to Pro Football Focus.
It’s unclear what the solution is, if any currently exists with the state of the Browns’ roster and its financial situation both this year and down the road. However, the more Cleveland struggles, the more likely it is that the Browns punt on Cooper and turn at least one eye toward 2025.
