<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3iTkKu_0w85VkVB00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3iTkKu_0w85VkVB00" width="1280" height="1109" ><figcaption>The Browns traded Amari Cooper to the Bills on Tuesday. John Kuntz, cleveland.com</figcaption></figure>CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns were involved in a trade today that bolstered a Super Bowl contender, except, at the beginning of the season, they hoped they would be on the other side of a deal like this.Instead they were the team selling to acquire draft capital on Tuesday while the Bills, fresh off their fourth win of the season, added a player in wide receiver Amari Cooper who, even in a year where he has struggled, will help them in their quest to get through their biggest roadblock — Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.Cooper mentioned after Sunday’s game that special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone told the team about the 2018 Colts. Ventrone was on the staff for an Indianapolis team that started 1-5 before winning nine of their last 10 games to make the playoffs.Week 7 NFL Preview: Find everything you need to know with our <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/sports/previews/nfl-week-7/">Week 7 NFL preview.</a>The problem for the Browns is that prime Andrew Luck isn’t walking through that door and it’s symbolic that, a few days after Cooper delivered that message standing in front of his locker postgame, he’s no longer here.This team has serious issues that are likely too big to fix this season, at least enough to come anywhere close to expectations.Cooper has not been the same player we saw the last two seasons, the receiver who was the first in franchise history to eclipse 1,000 yards in back-to-back years and holds the franchise record for receiving yards in a game with 265 against the Texans on Christmas Eve last year.This was a marriage that was likely to end after this season anyway. Cooper, 30, is in the final year of his deal and, even though he leads the team with 250 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns, his performance has lacked the sizzle we’ve seen the last two years.Cooper leads the league in drops, according to data from <a href="https://www.pff.com/">Pro Football Focus</a>, and he and quarterback Deshaun Watson have failed to find their chemistry.It’s actually concerning how few players have found their chemistry with Watson so far, especially considering how the offense looked when Joe Flacco rolled in off the couch, but that’s a column for another day.On paper, GM Andrew Berry getting a third-round pick back as the headliner for Cooper, a player they acquired for less than that, is a sound move. If the Browns are going to start selling in earnest, they walked away with a real asset for a player who was likely on his way out the door.Of course, the Bills won’t miss that pick if they’re getting ready for the Super Bowl while the Browns are focused on the Senior Bowl, but this season has gone south quickly for a Browns team that came in with the highest of expectations.We’ll find out over the next month if this is a full-on firesale or simply moving a player whose season never quite got going and seemed affected by trade rumors over the summer — even if he never would admit it. There’s one thing we do know — teams who truly believe their entire season is in front of them don’t usually trade their No. 1 receiver — and Cooper, despite his struggles, was still their No. 1 receiver — for a late Day 2 draft pick.And teams who really believe in their quarterback, rarely just dump his top target for a future asset.Teams that make these deals are teams like the Raiders, who traded Davante Adams to the Jets earlier on Tuesday. The Raiders, of course, beat the Browns in a game when Las Vegas was missing its best players on offense and defense, a sure sign this season might be on the wrong track.Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has continued to repeat Watson gives this team the best chance to win, even with a 1-5 record and historically bad statistics from the game’s most important position. Stefanski seems intent on riding Watson until the wheels fall off and, for his sake, he better hope the problems truly are more deep-seated and systemic than they are fixable by putting in a quarterback more adept at running his offense and distributing the football accurately on and on time.It worked last year with Flacco, when Cooper put up 485 yards in four games and averaged 19.4 yards per reception. Stefanski and the Browns, however, refuse for now to find out if they can recapture that magic.The Browns aren’t better today with Cooper no longer on the roster and the elephant in the room is still the quarterback with cap hits of nearly $73 million each in 2025 and 2026.This wasn’t supposed to be the move the Browns were making in mid-October. Browns fans, at this point, should have been putting together a wish list of players they hoped Berry could acquire. Instead, the Browns are sellers, on track for a Top 5 pick next April.The issues on the roster run deeper than a few dropped passes by Cooper. The Browns seem to understand where this season is going already.</div></body>

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Browns become sellers by mid-October, a result of bigger problems without easy solutions: Dan Labbe

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns were involved in a trade today that bolstered a Super Bowl contender, except, at the beginning of the season, they hoped they would be on the other side of a deal like this. Instead they were the team selling to acquire draft capital on...

Browns become sellers by mid-October, a result of bigger problems without easy solutions: Dan Labbe

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