Browns make blockbuster trade directly before game against Bengals

The Cleveland Browns just shook things up in a major way directly ahead of their Week 7 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. Cleveland is trading star wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills for a third round pick, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz.

This move came just mere hours after it was announced that the Las Vegas Raiders were trading star receiver Davante Adams to the New York Jets, so it was a very busy day in the league.

Cooper had been a member of the Browns since 2022, and he recorded over 1,000 receiving yards in each of the past two seasons. He was named to the Pro Bowl last season as a Brown, marking the third different team he made the Pro Bowl as a member of. However, he has just 24 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns so far this season.

Bengals won't have to worry about Amari Cooper in Week 7

Cooper is 30 years old and on the final year of his current contract. The Browns clearly didn't view him as part of the franchise's future, so they decided to trade him now and get something in return, as opposed to losing him for nothing in free agency next year.

Had the Browns not started the season by losing five of their first six games, perhaps they would have opted to hold on to the star receiver, but at 1-5, there's little hope for a midseason turnaround.

With Cooper heading to Buffalo to join Josh Allen and the Bills, that's one less weapon that the Bengals will have to worry about while game-planning for the Browns in Week 7. That's good news for Cincinnati, as Browns star running back Nick Chubb is expected to play against the Bengals after missing over a year of action with a knee injury. Some of the effort that they would have put into planning for Cooper can now be dedicated to preparing for Chubb.

The Bengals aren't scheduled to play the Bills in 2024, so they won't have to worry about Cooper at all, unless the two teams ultimately meet in the playoffs.