Jaguars’ GM: Discussions About Amari Cooper Trade Were ‘As Far as It Went’

The Jaguars were a part of the Amari Cooper trade discussions, but general manager Trent Baalke says that discussions are as far as it went.

The Jacksonville Jaguars were reportedly one of the team's in the running for Cleveland Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper, but general manager Trent Baalke did his part to throw cold water on the topic on Wednesday.

"We had discussions like we do with all these guys that are out there and available or potentially available. You have discussions. That’s as far as it went," Baalke told local media as he and head coach Doug Pederson spoke on the Jaguars' offseason and free agency period. 

The Jaguars were rumored to be in the running for all top receivers on the market this season due to the team's dire need at the position. This included the Cooper sweepstakes once the Dallas Cowboys made it clear that Cooper would not play for them in 2022.

The Cowboys ended up unloading the former Pro Bowler to the Browns at a meager price, with the Browns sending a fifth-round pick while the two teams swap sixth-round picks. Days later, the Jaguars signed Christian Kirk to a four-year, $72 million deal with $37 million guaranteed and Zay Jones to a three-year, $24 million deal with $14 million in guarantees. 

The Jaguars didn't nab Cooper, the former top pick who has had productive and explosive seasons for the Raiders and Cowboys. But they did nab receivers they feel comfortable with moving forward; likely more comfortable than they would have felt with just Cooper.

"Yeah, I think it goes back to, you know, guys that play in the slot or play outside and they really, yeah, of course, now with a guy like Christian and Zay, and even Marvin, let's throw Marvin and Laviska and these guys in the mix. I mean, you've got a room now that anybody can get the hot hand in any given week," Pederson said. 

"And it all goes back to game planning a little bit on how we want to use these guys and gameplan and, you know, target ... again, there's only one football, I wish I had five footballs, and they can all catch passes at once, but you can't. And I think as the season progresses, you'll see that you know, somebody will probably - okay, there's your 1, there's your guy, right? And then obviously, you know, a guy like Christian who we went out and got, he could come in and say, 'Hey, he's your 1 right away,' just because of the nature of the finances and all of that. 

"But, it's really hard to just put a number on it when anybody could make those plays in any given week. And the other thing too, listen, you know, Marvin Jones, this guy played over 90% of the snaps last year, and still had some production. And we also wanted to help him to, right, and make sure that he doesn't have to play 90 snaps all the time by adding the value of the depth that we did."

Still, the Jaguars had 12 draft picks and ample draft capital to obtain a player like Cooper. Baalke declined to get into the details of why the Jaguars didn't trade for Cooper, noting that there were several factors. 

“There’s always factors involved, right. Again, I’m not going to talk specifics of any talks we’ve had but there’s so many factors that go into these decisions," Baalke said. 

"When you’re not in the room, in the discussion, it’s hard to give you any more than that. I’ll leave it at that.”