The San Francisco 49ers want a wide receiver in return for Brandon Aiyuk, and reportedly, the Cleveland Browns were willing to send them Amari Cooper. The veteran Pro Bowler is the first Brown in team history with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. He also happens to be in the middle of a contract dispute, which colors the situation for obvious reasons.
Well, Cooper seemed to respond to that report in an Instagram story yesterday. As captured on X, he posted a story against a black background that simply read, “lol I wouldn’t mind at all”. And one gets the distinct impression that he really wouldn’t mind an exit from Cleveland at this point.
The Browns first acquired Amari Cooper via trade in 2022, earning a Pro Bowl in 2023. This past season, he caught 72 passes for 1,250 yards and five touchdowns. He scored nine touchdowns a year earlier and has 60 in his 10-year career. Yet the Browns don’t seem to want to pay him, or at least commit much to him.
While he skipped mandatory minicamp, the Browns finally restructured his contract to avoid Cooper holding out during training camp. As for Brandon Aiyuk, he continues to hold “in” for the 49ers, which is getting on head coach Kyle Shanahan’s nerves.
Despite the Browns offering Amari Cooper, Brandon Aiyuk nixed the trade, foiling San Francisco’s plans. He also reportedly turned down an opportunity to go to New England with a $32 million APY deal. Even he took to Instagram yesterday, commenting on a 49ers page. He said that the team has been airing everything on social media, but he’s just waiting for them to make one of two decisions.
Reportedly, the front office has reopened communication about a long-term contract, previously unwilling to meet his demands. Basically, either the 49ers up their offer to Aiyuk or accept the Steelers’ less substantial compensation. They are looking into acquiring a wide receiver from another team in a three-party situation as another option.
The 49ers preferred offers from other teams like the Browns, though, because they were willing to replace their loss of Aiyuk with a player like Cooper. San Francisco is a Super Bowl contender in 2024 and doesn’t want to hurt its chances of winning.
And now the Browns have hurt themselves, continuing to do so, by damaging their relationship with Amari Cooper. Even though he is on the wrong side of 30, he remains clearly their best wide receiver. They seem to be going in the wrong direction in keeping him happy.
But they took a swing for Aiyuk, hoping to replace Cooper altogether, and it backfired. The 49ers and Browns were both okay with the move, but Aiyuk was not—he doesn’t want to play for the Browns. So even if the Steelers don’t land Aiyuk, they managed some collateral damage with Cooper in Cleveland.
