Cowboys Insider Issues Warning To Bills on Amari Cooper Trade

FRISCO - There is a great deal of excitement surrounding the Buffalo Bills and their "go-for-it'' move as this week they answered the rival New York Jets' blockbuster acquisition of six-time Pro Bowl receiver and Aaron Rodgers' favorite target Davante Adams with their own headline-grabbing "get.''

The Bills, who sit at 4-2, traded for five-time Pro Bowl target - and former Dallas Cowboys enigma - Amari Cooper. In the deal with the Cleveland Browns, the Bills get Cooper and a sixth-round pick in next April's NFL Draft in exchange for two selections: a third-rounder in 2025 and a seventh-rounder in 2026.

They also don't have to pick up the salary tab on Cooper, as the Browns were so desperate to dump him that they altered his final-year contract in a way that means Cleveland picks up a $20 million tab.

On paper? Zero cap impact and a third-round pick in exchange for the sort of star receiver that Josh Allen obviously needs? That's an "all-in'' move (no, not Jerry Jones' version of "all in'') and it's a "win.'' Right? After all, Cooper, 30, will immediately ascend to become Allen's No. 1 receiver. He will fill the Stefon Diggs trade void. He'll put up numbers, as over his 10-year career he has 691 catches and 62 touchdowns.

But there is a "but'' here, and it goes back to 2022 and why the Cowboys did their own version of a "trade dump'' while netting only a fifth-round pick from Cleveland.

Our Richie Whitt, a 35-year veteran on the Cowboys beat who broke the original story of that trade with his "Amari shrinkage'' scoop , is now issuing a warning of sorts to the Bills.

Says Whitt: "He's playing for a winner and he's playing for a contract and this is a short-term rental, so Cooper might be willing to go 100-percent here. But he's not consistently effective or consistently good. Historically, he'll go through periods of ineffectiveness and sulking. He'll tell the coaching staff something feels wrong physically. He'll at times - especially when the chips are down - appear to be disinterested in crisp route-running and blocking and all the things a $20 million receiver simply must do.''

Dallas decided it'd had enough of that version of Cooper. And now, so has Cleveland, where his pairing with quarterback Deshaun Watson made it one of the worst in the league.

In six games this season Cooper has only 24 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Things, though, are likely to perk up now.

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“As far as playing with Josh Allen, I’ve always been fan of his game," Cooper said in reaction to the trade. "I’m sure to see it up close and personal and play alongside him, I’m sure it’s going to be great. I’ve been in this situation before, so that helps. I’m just excited to turn a new chapter and to be able to contribute.”

The Bills will be Cooper's third team in four seasons, even though he was drafted No. 4 overall by the Raiders in 2015 and even though he's got Pro Bowl credentials. He started strong, got a new contract and then wore out his welcome here in Dallas after a series of lethargic efforts. His history says he will start strong again, inspired short-term by the setup in Buffalo.

But what Whitt is telling us that when short-term becomes long-term? Or when the high-flying Bills sink into a valley? Buyer beware, Buffalo.