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Amari Cooper celebrates a touchdown.
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Amari Cooper was a centerpiece of the team’s offense in a 44-42 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 8, getting a team-high 14 targets while making six catches for 95 yards.
After joining the team in a midseason trade, Cooper appeared to be building a strong connection with quarterback Josh Allen and carving out a significant role in the offense. But that changed quickly the next week, when Cooper had no targets in a 48-42 win over the Detroit Lions.
Cooper shared a surprising perspective after the game, explaining why he wasn’t dismayed at the sharp drop in production.
Amari Cooper Not Worried
Speaking to the The Buffalo News this week, Cooper said he’s not at all unhappy about the uneven role in the offense and said he’s happy to be on a winning team. Cooper started the season with the Cleveland Browns but was shipped to Buffalo ahead of this season’s trade deadline.
“It’s absolutely amazing,” Cooper told The Buffalo News. “Honestly, I’ve been waiting my whole life to be on a team like this.”
The Pro Bowl receiver added that while he would like to get more targets, he only cares about winning.
“Obviously, I’m a receiver,” Cooper said. “Every receiver wants the ball. But, I mean, I’m in Year 10. And so, what’s most important to me is winning. And so, I think we definitely have the formula.
“So, I think it’s actually kind of cool, like going from 14 targets to zero targets, and we win, we beat a great team, actually a potential matchup down the road.”
Amari Cooper Sheds Light on Role
Cooper went a step further, explaining why he believes it’s healthy for a team’s top receiver to have a game like he did against the Lions. The 30-year-old receiver said it makes a team that much harder to defense if they’re able to spread out the ball to a wide group of players.
“It’s so much pressure when you’re the guy that everybody knows is getting the ball. And pressure is a good thing,” Cooper said. “But also, in that situation, everybody knows what’s coming, and it makes the offense more predictable, making the offense easier to stop.”
Cooper has made 16 catches for 231 yards with two touchdowns since joining the Bills in October, close to the same production as his first six games with the Browns.
Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir shared praise for Cooper, telling The Buffalo News that his unselfish nature is a good example for the rest of the team.
“It’s pretty crazy, because you have a guy that’s at the top of our position,” Shakir said. “A freak of nature in everything that he does. And for him to say that, it shows that’s he’s really bought into everything we’re trying to accomplish here.”
The Bills came into the season espousing an “everybody eats” philosophy, spreading the ball to a wider group of players after the departures of top receivers Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis. The approach has paid off so far, with nine players racking up at least 200 receiving yards and 12 players with a receiving touchdown. That group includes Allen himself, who took a lateral from Cooper after a reception and ran it in for a touchdown.
Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty
