We are now less than a month to the NFL trade deadline, which means teams need to figure out if they'll be buyers or sellers on November 5th.
As we get closer to the deadline, we begin to see more trade ideas around the NFL media landscape. Some of these trades make almost too much sense even if they don’t end up happening come the deadline. However, A to Z Sports has come up with the perfect hypothetical proposed trade that should go down for the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns.
Kansas City Chiefs receive:
WR Amari Cooper
Cleveland Browns receive:
2025 third-round pick (via Titans)
Why the Kansas City Chiefs make the move to trade for WR Amari Cooper
“Let the record show that I don’t think the Chiefs will be extra motivated to acquire a receiver at the trade deadline after going 5-0 through perhaps the toughest stretch of the season by DVOA. They’ve proven they can sign players off the street like JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kareem Hunt and turn them into 100-yard players in their offense. Why not do some more of that rather than exhausting draft capital?
At the same time, I don’t think Brett Veach would pass on the opportunity to acquire a receiver that could help uplift an offense. They lost the two players who were expected to have the vast majority of the team’s receptions and yards this season. They also lost them in five weeks and it’s a long season. The reality is that those won’t be the last injury challenges they face on offense this year. They need to add top-end talent, but they also must create depth on an injury-depleted roster.
Amari Cooper makes a ton of sense for Kansas City as a half-season rental. As of Week 5, he has 20 receptions for 208 yards and two touchdowns in the 2024 NFL season. It’d be a lot more if it weren’t for things like an 80-yard touchdown reception overturned by an inconsequential holding penalty. He also currently has a quarterback throwing inaccurate passes at a rate that we haven’t seen in over a decade . Yes, Cooper leads the NFL in dropped passes through five weeks (8), but that number should regress.
From a financial perspective, this is a no-brainer move for Kansas City. Cooper would cost just over $941K to acquire . The Browns previously acquired Cooper from the Dallas Cowboys in a trade in March of 2022. The cost for Cooper then was a 2022 fifth-round draft pick and a 2022 sixth-round draft pick. I think he’s probably more valuable now than he was then as he’s coming off of back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons with an abysmal quarterback situation in Cleveland. I’d willingly send the Chiefs’ own third-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft (not the pick they acquired from the Titans in the L’Jarius Sneed trade). I'd like to think that the Browns would feel lucky to recoup more than they paid for Cooper in what appears to be another lost season. In reality, I think they'll probably want the Sneed pick, and that might be the price you have to pay to get Cooper, if the market for his services is competitive.” - Charles Goldman, A to Z Sports Kansas City
Why the Cleveland Browns make the move to trade WR Amari Cooper
“ The time has come when it makes sense for the Cleveland Browns to start thinking about trading wide receiver Amari Cooper. Just a year ago it never could have been pictured ending like this, but now it appears it may be the move that makes sense for both sides.
As a 1-4 football team with a very tough schedule the rest of the way, the Browns are not making the playoffs. I’ll be glad to take my crow if they somehow can. They’ve given us no reason to believe they can at this point. So, when you’re a bad team, it is smart to think about what you can get for contracts that are expiring.
Cooper is in the last year of his deal and despite playing some of his best ball the last two years, looks completely checked out in Cleveland for the most part. Through five games, Cooper has 208 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. He has caught just 20 of the 47 passes thrown his way.
By no means do I think Cooper is washed. I believe it is closer to him being miserable where he is than being a lesser player. Even if Cooper takes a slight step back from a career-high 1,250 receiving yards last season, he is still a darn good football player. The eight drops have been worrisome and hurt the Browns at points so far this season .
If this is going to be a lost season for the Browns, they’re going to have to find out what they have in some other wideouts. Perhaps putting Jerry Jeudy in a bigger role and getting better looks at Cedric Tillman and Jamari Thrash happen.
Cleveland paid a fifth-round pick for Cooper from the Dallas Cowboys and he is likely worth more than that now since the money isn’t an issue. The future is cloudy in Cleveland for the team’s outlook, so getting something rather than letting him walk after the season should be the move. After all, the Browns may need the extra selection(s) they can get to get themselves a quarterback.” - Brandon Little, A to Z Sports Cleveland
Related: Former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions claims he helped a Pro Bowler have a breakout Super Bowl run with the Chiefs
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