'I'm not a very emotional person': Amari Cooper dismisses trade talk, Cowboys revenge game

BEREA — Amari Cooper isn't necessarily a player who tries to draw a lot of attention to himself. The Browns wide receiver's persona, at least publicly, is one of quiet reserve.

Cooper's name , though, has been front and center a lot over the last several months. There was a contract issue before training camp, then trade rumors linking him to the San Francisco 49ers in a Brandon Aiyuk deal throughout camp.

All of that could be emotionally draining, even for a 10-year NFL veteran like Cooper.

"No," Cooper said Thursday. "I'm not a very emotional person, so no."

That includes when it comes to squaring off against one of his former teams, as will be the case Sunday when the Browns open against the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys traded Cooper to Cleveland in 2022 in exchange for a fifth-round pick and a swap of sixth-round picks that year.

Since coming to Cleveland, Cooper has been sensational. He's the first Browns wide receiver to post back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons, with 2,410 yards and 14 touchdowns on 150 catches.

Sunday's game will be the first time Cooper will face the Cowboys since the trade. Don't expect him to be talking up some big revenge game, though.

"Not necessarily," Cooper said. "It's been a couple years now. I think it probably would've been more emotional had it been sooner."

It also may have never happened had the reported trade possibilities that emerged in early August would've be executed. Specifically, Cooper's name was linked through multiple reports to the Browns pursuit of Aiyuk, the 49ers wide receiver.

Things seemed to be coming to a head on Aug. 5, when a report out of San Francisco said the Browns and 49ers had a deal in principal that required Aiyuk's approval of a new contract with Cleveland to be consummated. Cooper was mentioned as the centerpiece of the deal.

The deal never occurred. Aiyuk and the 49ers reached a new four-year deal last Thursday, and Cooper moved on with preparing for the final year of his contract with the Browns.

Cooper insisted the rumors weren't something he allowed to impact him. He's already been dealt twice: Once, in 2018, from the then-Oakland Raiders to the Cowboys; the second the deal between the Cowboys and Browns.

"I don't think I ever really had to learn because I don't think it's something to be taken personal," Cooper said. "At the end of the day, you might be traded away from one team. It's all about how you perceive things. Life is about perception, because in regards to trades, yeah, you're trading away from one team, but you're being accepted into another team. So I just kind of look at it as that's how the business was arranged."

On Aug. 9, at the height of the Aiyuk rumors, Cooper took to Instagram. On a plain black backdrop he wrote the words "lol I wouldn't mind at all."

Social media and sports-talk radio lit up in search of a meaning. Considering the circumstances surrounding Cooper, the direct tie between that and the trade rumors seemed obvious.

Cooper was asked if the IG story meant he was upset and wanted out of Cleveland.

"Hey, I mean, the media is all about sensationalism," Cooper said, "so I'll let y'all have fun with whatever y'all thought that might've meant."

Cooper's still in a Browns uniform, as he's expected to be for at least the rest of this season. What happens when this season ends, though, led to some offseason drama involving him and the organization.

This is the final year of the five-year deal the Browns took over from the Cowboys when they initially acquired Cooper in 2022. The wide receiver sat out all of OTAs and minicamp while he sought a resolution to at least the money he was still owed, if not a desire to get an extension.

The two sides resolved the short-term problem in time for training camp, as Cooper has a chance to receive $5 million through incentives, while also guaranteeing the original $20 million base salary. There were no additional years added to the deal.

"I haven't really been in contact with my agent about any negotiations, so no," Cooper said. "I understand that, at the end of the day, you just got to play good football. That's all that matters."

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 'I'm not a very emotional person': Amari Cooper dismisses trade talk, Cowboys revenge game