Buffalo Bills projected to lose star after season

The Buffalo Bills have received a projection of losing a star following the season.
Buffalo Bills' Amari Cooper runs toward the end zone with the ball during the second half at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Oct. 20, 2024. The midseason trade for the wide receiver has paid instant dividends for the Bills.
Buffalo Bills' Amari Cooper runs toward the end zone with the ball during the second half at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Oct. 20, 2024. The midseason trade for the wide receiver has paid instant dividends for the Bills. / Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Buffalo Bills are set to take on the Baltimore Ravens later on today with a trip to the AFC Championship Game on the line. However, there are a lot of storylines already forming for the upcoming NFL offseason.

One of the biggest storylines surrounding the Bills right now has to do with star wide receiver Amari Cooper and his impending free agency.

Cooper was acquired before the NFL trade deadline to be a go-to target for Josh Allen. He has not been able to become that kind of playmaker in Buffalo.

In the eight regular season games that he played with the Bills after the trade, he caught 20 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns. He caught just two passes for eight yards in the team's wild-card win last week.

Obviously, those numbers haven't moved the needle much for the offense.

Looking ahead to the offseason, there will likely be a decently large market of teams interested in signing Cooper. Buffalo could very well end up losing him.

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Amari Cooper runs with the football.
Oct 20, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Amari Cooper (18) runs with the ball after making a catch against the Tennessee Titans during the second half at Highmark Stadium. / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Matt Johnson of SportsNaut has logged a new projection for Cooper. He has the veteran wideout signing with the Los Angeles Chargers.

At 30 years old, Cooper looks to have lost a step this season. It could simply be a bad year, but many believe that his age is starting to catch up to him.

Will the Bills look to pay a hefty price to keep him around? Or, would they rather go pursue another weapon that could make more of an impact?

Only time will tell, but Cooper will hit free agency and they could lose him. A team like the Chargers definitely does make sense as a threat to sign him.

All of that being said, it will be interesting to see what Buffalo chooses to do when it comes to Cooper. He may end up being re-signed, but that is far from a guarantee at this point in time.

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Amari Cooper catches the football.
Nov 17, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Amari Cooper (18) makes a catch against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half at Highmark Stadium. / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

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Evan Massey
EVAN MASSEY

Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst who covers college football, the NFL and NBA. He has contributed to the On SI network since July 2021. He has also written for ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, NFLAnalysis.net, NBAAnalysis.net and many other publications. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son.