Amari Cooper Becomes First Browns WR To Achieve This Feat
Amari Cooper officially cemented himself as one of the Browns’ best wide receivers in franchise history Sunday in Houston.
With a 53-yard catch in the first quarter against the Texans, Cooper eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the season, becoming the first Browns receiver to post consecutive seasons of over 1,000 yards in franchise history.
No, that last sentence is not a typo.
Cooper’s feat is something not even Paul Warfield, Eric Metcalf, Josh Gordon, Jarvis Landry or any other Browns receiver achieved in their careers in Cleveland.
Hall of Famers Ozzie Newsome and Mac Speedie each posted two 1,000-yard seasons in their careers with Cleveland, but Newsome was considered a tight end and Speedie's seasons were when the Browns were still in the All-America Football Conference — not the NFL, which the team joined in 1950. Neither player also posted their 1,000-yard totals in consecutive seasons.
Dec 17, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper (2) runs the ball along the sideline for a touchdown against the Chicago Bears during the fourth quarter at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports
What’s even more impressive is that Cooper achieved the feat despite catching passes from five quarterbacks in his 32 games with the Browns. The list features Jacoby Brissett, Deshaun Watson, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, P.J. Walker and Joe Flacco and is a testament to Cooper’s innate ability to quickly establish chemistry with a quarterback.
Cooper, who needed 15 yards Sunday to reach 1,000, said Thursday he was aware he was approaching the achievement.
“It’s very important,” he said. “Just to be consistent, just to be reliable, just to be available. It means a lot to me being able to play through whatever circumstance and still be able to do my job. It definitely means a lot that I’m able to do that.”
Cooper, who is 29 and is in his ninth NFL season, has had seven 1,000-yard seasons in his career and now sits 65th on the NFL’s all-time receiving yards list. Prior to Sunday, he was sitting at 68th and needed just 24 yards to pass Emmanuel Sanders, 54 yards to pass Raymond Berry, 65 yards to pass Rob Gronkowski and 147 yards to pass Rob Moore.
Cooper has managed to play in all 15 games for the Browns this season, which is also a special feat after he underwent core muscle surgery last offseason after playing in all 17 games for Cleveland in 2022. He has yet to miss a game in his career with the Browns, and he could potentially break his career-high of 1,189 yards in a season set in 2019 with the Cowboys. Cooper was a Pro Bowler that year.
His value to the Browns is even better when remembering how he was acquired — the Browns gave up only a 2022 fifth-round pick and swapped 2022 sixth-round picks with the Cowboys in March 2022 to add him to the roster.
It’s a trade that has long felt like an all-time steal for the Browns.
Now, Cooper is an all-time top receiver.
