Bills’ Amari Cooper shares ‘realistic’ take about early expectation with Buffalo
In a shocking wave of developments to kick off Week 7, veteran wide receiver Amari Cooper’s season is just beginning. The Buffalo Bills acquired the 30-year-old veteran in a trade with the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday.
Cooper fills the desperate void that’s been holding back the Bills this season. He’ll likely step in as the primary wide receiver, and help Josh Allen find a consistent target in the open field.
After arriving in Buffalo on Wednesday, Cooper expressed a ton of excitement, and the sense of relief was palpable. Reporters asked him about joining forces with Allen, who Cooper has been a fan of for a while, per Matt Parrino of NYup.com.
“As far as the way he plays, I mean, it’s phenomenal,” Cooper said. “Every time I turn on the television and watch him play. He plays with a lot of grit; a lot of hustle. He plays hard, and obviously he’s been one of the top quarterbacks in the game for a while now. So just to be able to play with him and experience that in person is going to be real cool.”
“I just got here,” he said. “So I don’t really have an expectation right now that I can chalk up to being realistic until I go through the week. If I had to answer the question, the expectation would just be to take full advantage of my opportunities. That’s it. I don’t know what opportunities I would be blessed with for Sunday, but whatever it is, just take full advantage of it.”
Cooper needed a change of scenery. He was getting shadowed by defenders as the primary receiver of a 1-5 team, and he couldn’t get much of anything going with Deshaun Watson at quarterback.
Amari Cooper’s expected role with Bills
Scott Galvin-Imagn Images
Cooper is expected to significantly bolster the Bills’ passing attack out of the gate, and his rapport with Allen likely won’t take too long to gel. He joins a wide receiver room featuring Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Curtis Samuel and Mack Hollins.
Tight end Dalton Kincaid hasn’t been taking over like many thought before the season, which paves the way for Cooper to see his targets increase as he gets acclimated.
Buffalo is coming off a crucial division win against the New York Jets, and will hopefully be able to gear Cooper up for Week 7 against the Tennessee Titans at home.