ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The last time Amari Cooper was a free agent, I asked him how he would describe the Buffalo Bills.
He was nice about it, but he strongly suggested Buffalo is not a place he’d choose to go.
“Location, location, location,” Cooper said with a smile. “If I had to sum it up in three words, that’s what they would be.”
The Bills’ organization and their fans have four months to make other criteria a part of Cooper’s equation if they want him to stay in a small market on Lake Erie’s shore. The three most important words regarding any free-agent contract are “money, money, money.” In our chat at the Pro Bowl in January 2000, however, Cooper conceded the quarterback and a chance to win Super Bowls are pivotal.
Cooper’s contract will expire in March, and the Bills won’t be alone in their interest to sign the superstar receiver. General manager Brandon Beane last week indicated they won’t negotiate during the season. Cooper, at the moment, looks like a four-month rental.
Career numbers illustrate why weather would factor into Cooper’s decision. The Miami native re-signed with the Dallas Cowboys for five years and $100 million, but was traded to the Cleveland Browns in 2022 and to the Bills a week ago.
So I asked him about a half hour after his Bills debut Sunday — a 34-10 victory over the Tennessee Titans in Highmark Stadium — to share immediate reactions to his new football home.
“It’s very impressive,” Cooper said. “The fans, it has a good feel to the game. It just felt different, the fans, for some reason. I kind of got the warning throughout the week that the fans are very passionate.
“I have been a part of a lot of very passionate fan bases. I played for the Raiders, the Cowboys, the Browns, Alabama. But this one seems a little bit more heightened, so I guess that’s a good thing.”
That’s a good start to swaying opinion. A more heightened gameday experience than with the Black Hole, America’s Team, the Dawg Pound or Roll Tide? That’s heady stuff.
Another effective inducement was instant production. Cooper’s first Bills reception was the go-ahead touchdown, and his other three catches all moved the chains. Cooper grabbed four passes for 66 yards, his initial Josh Allen jaunt more satisfying than what was happening in Cleveland with Deshaun Watson.
Already, the Bills love having Cooper around. He played only 19 snaps, but by all accounts went above and beyond to prepare for whatever opportunities he’d get.
Cooper requested a tutor to help absorb the playbook, terminology and philosophies of Allen and offensive coordinator Joe Brady. The Bills gave him offensive quality control coach DJ Mangas, the longtime Brady associate and former University at Buffalo play caller.
Without mentioning the Browns’ miserable season, Cooper said at last week’s introductory news conference he was eager for a fresh start. “The goal of the NFL,” he said, “is to win.” The Bills have been to the postseason five straight winters and have won the AFC East four years in a row. The Browns are laughingstocks.
Cooper was attractive because his renegotiated contract paid him a base salary of $1.21 million, and Cleveland paid him six of the 18 weekly installments already, giving him a $806,667 salary-cap figure for Buffalo.
He’ll make a lot more than that on his next deal. Suitors will line up, especially if he posts attractive numbers down the homestretch.
Beane admitted Cooper’s tenure might be brief and emphasized the benefit of acquiring a 2026 compensatory draft choice if Cooper opts for another team.
“There’s no rule that we can’t sign him back,” Beane said. “We’ll just play it out this year, see how it fits on both sides. There’s also the potential to get a comp pick off of it as well. So if we choose not to or he wants to go sign somewhere else, at the end, we can potentially play the comp game with him and get some of that back in a future draft.”
The Bills will have cap relief when Stefon Diggs’ dead money no longer counts after this season, but Beane must weigh whether to commit substantial dollars to a receiver who will turn 31 next year. Beane took a similar risk upon signing edge rusher Von Miller, 33 years old at the time, and the move has backfired. For the record, Diggs would have turned 32 in November of the final season of the four-year, $96 million extension he signed with Buffalo in 2022.
That said, Cooper explained during our 2020 talk that free-agency decisions aren’t solely financial transactions in his mind. Plus, he’s far wealthier today and has won a single playoff game through nine NFL seasons. Maybe he values chasing Super Bowl rings more.
“I don’t think it’s all about money,” Cooper said back then. “Most players in the NFL, and if you’re a highly touted free agent, you’re going to get paid a lot of money no matter where you go. So is it worth it to go somewhere you don’t want to go?
“You might be a guy like me, who is from South Florida and has never played a game in the snow. Is it worth $1 million more a year or $2 million more a year, especially if you’ve been taking care of your money? Is it worth that to be in an environment you don’t want to be in? Or would you rather stay somewhere in the South?”
Cooper experienced Orchard Park once before Sunday. When the Oakland Raiders visited in October 2017, it was 42 degrees, dark and rainy. In long sleeves, Cooper made five receptions for 48 yards in a 34-14 Bills victory.
In 33 career outdoor appearances when it’s 50 degrees or colder at kickoff, Cooper averages 3.8 catches for 45.9 yards and a touchdown every five games.
In warmer conditions and indoors, he averages 5.0 catches for 72.2 yards and a touchdown every other game.
Maybe the quarterback’s caliber can help overcome weather concerns. Those who’ve thrown him TD passes include, in order of volume, Dak Prescott, Derek Carr, Jacoby Brissett, Watson, Andy Dalton, Joe Flacco, Cooper Rush, Connor Cook and now — the best of them all — Josh Allen.
“It’s a symbiotic relationship between a wide receiver and a quarterback,” Cooper said in 2020. “His success is a part of how I’m doing, and my success is a part of how he’s doing.
“So if I have to test the market, I’d definitely be evaluating quarterbacks to see if I want to play with them or not.”
Vibes were starkly different around the Bills the last time Cooper passed through.
New Era Field didn’t sell out for a team that had gone 17 straight seasons without the playoffs. Fans were learning about rookie coach Sean McDermott, debating whether Tyrod Taylor was the answer at quarterback and hoping LeSean McCoy wasn’t too old.
On Sunday, the place was packed and electric. It got up to 68 degrees. Cranes for a new stadium towered into a bright, cloudless sky.
(Top photo: Adrian Kraus / AP Photo)
