One day after the Browns traded their top receiver to the Bills, their leadership group was left to answer for the move.
Their explanation, unsurprisingly, was succinct: It's just business.
"I think [you're] disappointed when you lose any player for injury or otherwise, trade, whatever it is," coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday. "I wish Amari (Cooper) luck. Obviously, I talked to him yesterday. We're excited. It opens up opportunities for other guys. You obviously become close to your players, and you don't like to lose anybody for any reason. But we understand the business part of that, and we're excited what the opportunities will be for some other guys."
The "other guys" include Jerry Jeudy -- Cleveland's presumptive new No. 1 receiver -- Elijah Moore, 2023 third-round pick Cedric Tillman and rookie Jamari Thrash, with room for primary return man Jaelon Darden to fit in when needed.
In theory, the concept seems ideal. Cleveland sends a veteran receiver on an expiring deal to a contender and receives a third-round pick in return. In fact, on paper, it's a wise business move when considering the Browns originally acquired Cooper for a fifth-round pick in 2022.
But the Browns are conveniently ignoring the elephant in the room: The other guys still have to run routes for the worst starting quarterback in the NFL.
It doesn't take much effort to find a compilation of Watson missing open targets because he senses the pass rush bearing down on him, or plainly overshooting his intended receivers. Watson has held this offense back so significantly, the Browns have failed to break 20 points scored in any game this season. Their leading touchdown scorer is a defender: safety Rodney McLeod, who returned a fumble for a touchdown in Week 4 and took a blocked field goal back for six points in Week 6.
Now, the Browns are proceeding without their top target whose remarkably rough start to the 2024 season was very much connected to his lack of rapport with Watson.
Because he remains their starting quarterback, Watson was asked about Cooper's departure for Buffalo on Wednesday.
"The biggest thing is Coop is my brother," the quarterback said of Cooper. "These last three years, we got to know each other, not just on the field, but especially off the field, hanging out in the offseason, my family hanging out with each other. He helped me through some tough times that I was dealing with and vice versa.
"It's definitely tough to see a brother and see a teammate that means a lot, not just for myself, but for the locker room get traded away. But you got to trust the organization and what (general manager Andrew Berry) and Kevin and those guys upstairs have planned. And that's out of my control. But at the same time, we're definitely going to miss him, and we appreciate everything he brought for this team and this organization on the field."
Anytime a team loses its top receiver, disappointment -- mild or otherwise -- follows. Though Cooper's drops certainly didn't help (and at times swung games in their opposition's favor), he was still a key part of Cleveland's offense. Now that he's gone, all Browns fans have is another reason to believe their 32nd-ranked offense won't deliver on Sunday.
Stefanski tried to swing the tone toward optimism Wednesday with some standard coachspeak.
"I think our guys get that the No. 1 thing here is to win, the No. 1 thing is to compete," Stefanski said. "The truth is you do lose guys throughout the course of the season -- sometimes it's due to injury, sometimes it's due to trade, whatever it may be -- and our guys have to step up when that time comes."
With Watson under center, the Browns haven't been competitive offensively, no matter who is running routes. They're anticipating the return of star running back Nick Chubb, but have only run the ball on 37 percent of their plays this season.
If they aren't going to make a change at quarterback, the best they can do is lean on a running back who is returning from a significant knee injury that sidelined him for more than a calendar year. It's not a great situation.
Left with little else to do than speak positively, Stefanski pointed toward an expected redistribution of targets in Cooper's absence as a reason to feel encouraged.
"I think it's a bunch of guys. As you know, Amari's volume of targets was a lot," Stefanski said. "Well, those have to go to other people, other people in the wide receiver room, the tight end room, the running back room. We do have a lot of confidence in our guys."
Confidence is great. We'll see if any of Cooper's former teammates can justify it now that he's gone.
