Browns analyst pounds the table for expensive extension for CeeDee Lamb’s former mentor Amari Cooper

Amari Cooper is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL and part of an elite company that made at least one Pro Bowl for three teams. He has contributed for the then-Oakland Raiders, Dallas Cowboys (where he once played with another future dominator in CeeDee Lamb), and now the Cleveland Browns.

But now, he is entering the final year of his contract, which he signed back in 2020. And as a result, he has been holding out, skipping mandatory minicamp in the process.

USA Today's Cory Kinnan supports him, and here's why:

1. He has led the AFC North in receiving yards in consecutive seasons, more than Cincinnati Bengals superstar Ja'Marr Chase.
2. He holds the franchise record for most receiving yards in a single game - 265 against the Houston Texans last December. It also made him the second player in NFL history to have a 200+ yard game with three different teams.
3. He had a career-high nine touchdowns in the 2022-23 season, then a career-high 1,250 yards the season after - and he achieved the latter milestone despite playing with five different quarterbacks, becoming the first Beown ever to have consecutive thousand-yard seasons.
4. He has missed only two games with the Browns despite being known to have played through groin injuries as a Raider and Cowboy.

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What Amari Cooper's ideal extension would look like

Meanwhile, Mary Kay Cabot and Dan Labbe have an estimate of how much Amari Cooper will get paid if he is extended long-term. They surmised on the "Orange and Brown Talk" podcast that his ideal extension would be $26 million over two years. And a significant portion represents a signing bonus that allows general manager Andrew Berry to spread out the cap hit.

Such an extension will also allow the Browns to be more flexible with their wideout room. It already has Elijah Moore, set to be a free agent after 2024, recent trade acquisition Jerry Jeudy and incoming sophomore Cedric Tillman in the rotation.

Should Moore leave, that will leave a core of Cooper, Jeudy and Tillman for 2025, which could be complemented by a rookie like Travis Hunter.