For teams that are still in need at wide receiver, Amari Cooper remains one of the best options on the free-agent market.
Cooper is coming off a down season that was split between the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills, but there’s a few explanations for his lackluster showing.
For starters, Cooper had an awful quarterback situation in Cleveland with Deshaun Watson and Co. Then, not only did he have to learn a new offense on the fly after being traded to Buffalo, he was also playing with a wrist injury.
Prior to last season, Cooper was as consistent as they come at the position. He had seven 1,000-yard seasons over his last nine, and five Pro Bowl nods in that span.
When it comes to the best fits out there for Cooper, the Pittsburgh Steelers are at the top of the list. Sports Illustrated’s Gilberto Manzano predicted Cooper will ultimately land in Pittsburgh, where the team is expected to sign future Hall of Fame quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.
Cooper, who turns 31 in June, had a quiet, brief stint with the Bills after being traded by the Browns midway through the season. He’s still a solid route runner capable of opening up the field for his teammates. The Steelers are thin at wide receiver after sending George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. Cooper can help move the chains and take some attention away from newcomer star wideout DK Metcalf. Cooper, who has 711 career receptions, would make life easier for Mason Rudolph or a popular unsigned quarterback.
The Steelers appeared to finally have the wide receiver upgrade they sought out for a full year when the team traded for DK Metcalf in March. But Pittsburgh decided to trade away the problem child that is George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys, which again leaves the team short at the position.
Cooper is an ideal replacement for Pickens on the outside and would immediately slot in as the No. 2 option in Pittsburgh’s very shaky wide receivers room that also includes Calvin Austin, Robert Woods, and an unproven Roman Wilson.
The Steelers have plenty of cap space available to fit Cooper in, but they shouldn’t need much to get something done, seeing as how he’s coming off the season he is, and with it being so late in free agency.
General manager Omar Khan can say what he wants about his confidence in the wide receivers room, but the fact of the matter is that Pittsburgh is in the same position it was last year, and that group simply didn’t cut it.
It’s time to make a significant upgrade, and Cooper would amount to exactly that.
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