There is a new level of uncertainty with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense that wasn’t there a month ago. That comes with 2 of the best players on the roster in left offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs and wide receiver Chris Godwin out — Wirfs with a knee and Godwin with a surprise second surgery on the dislocated left ankle he suffered in Week 7 of the 2024 regular season.
While Wirfs should be back and dominant sooner than later, the uncertainty with Godwin could be a little more difficult to overcome.
That’s why Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox thinks a smart move for Tampa Bay might be to sign free agent wide receiver and 5-time Pro Bowler Amari Cooper, who doesn’t have a team after playing out the last year of a 5-year, $100 million contract in 2024 with the Buffalo Bills.
“Cooper would also make some sense for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, even though they used their first-round pick on wideout Emeka Egbuka,” Knox wrote on July 24. “Chris Godwin (ankle) opened camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and doesn’t have a clear timeline for return.”
Even if Godwin is out for the first month of the season it would be worth signing Cooper on a 1-year, $5 million contract — if he’ll take that amount— and pack it with incentives that might come close to doubling that number.
Figuring Out What Cooper Might Still Have Left
Cooper, who turned 31 years old in June, has been one of the NFL’s dominant wide receivers over the last decade.
He struggled playing for 2 teams in 2024 with the Cleveland Browns and Bills with career lows of 547 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. Despite that, Cooper still has 3 seasons over 1,000 receiving yards in the last 4 years.
Knox had Cooper ranked as the No. 11 overall free agent in 2025 after the season.
“Statistically, Cooper wasn’t very impressive this year,” Knox wrote. ” … Granted, he was saddled with horrific quarterback play in Cleveland and (was) learning Buffalo’s offense on the fly. It’s also worth noting that Joe Brady’s offense doesn’t force the ball to any one receiver, so it was never likely that Cooper would come in and have the sort of production we saw from Stefon Diggs (in 2023). Cooper had 1,250 receiving yards in 2023 and remains a savvy route-runner with strong hands and big-play ability.”
One Thing Cooper Hasn’t Had: Playoff SuccessSince the Las Vegas Raiders drafted Cooper with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft out of Alabama, he’s been a 5-time Pro Bowl selection but he’s only played in 8 playoff games — that includes 3 games following the 2024 season where he had just 6 receptions for 41 yards.
In the previous 5 games, Cooper was pretty decent — 25 receptions for 304 yards and 2 touchdowns.
With the Buccaneers, Cooper could join a team where he could make a maximum impact without a tremendous amount of pressure — Mike Evans is still there, after all — and could do it for a franchise where they’re trying to make the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.
While Cooper doesn’t have a Super Bowl ring, or even an appearance, what he does have is boatloads of cash, with $136.6 million in career earnings.
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