Amari Cooper, traded three times: the price of a wide receiver

Amari Cooper was traded three times in six years. On October 22, 2018, the Dallas Cowboys gave the Oakland Raiders a first-round pick for Cooper. On March 16, 2022, the Cleveland Browns gave Dallas a fifth-round pick and a sixth-round pick for Cooper and a sixth-round pick. On October 15, 2024, the Buffalo Bills gave Cleveland a third-round pick and a conditional seventh-round pick for Cooper and a sixth-round pick. Cooper was 24 at the first trade, 27 at the second, and 30 at the third. All three deals are traced in the Amari Cooper trade tree.

Oakland to Dallas, October 2018

The Oakland Raiders were 1-5 when they traded Cooper on October 22, 2018, after trading Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears in September. Cooper had opened his career with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in 2015 and 2016, and he was in the concussion protocol after leaving Oakland's game against the Seattle Seahawks on October 14.¹

Dallas was 3-4. The 2018 season was the Cowboys' first without Dez Bryant, whom Dallas had released, and Jason Witten, who had retired, and Cowboys receivers had combined for one 100-yard game through seven weeks, by Cole Beasley against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.¹

Dallas went 7-2 after the trade and won the NFC East. Cooper caught 53 passes for 725 yards and six touchdowns in nine games for Dallas and earned his third Pro Bowl selection.² He caught seven passes for 106 yards against Seattle in the wild-card round.² Stephen Jones, the Cowboys' executive vice president, said before the 2019 draft: "When the Raiders pick our pick, we'll be watching Amari Cooper highlight tapes."²

Dallas's run pushed the pick down to No. 27 overall, and Oakland drafted Mississippi State safety Johnathan Abram with it.²³

Dallas to Cleveland, March 2022

Adam Schefter reported the trade on March 12, 2022, and it became official on March 16.⁴⁵¹⁷ Dallas sent Cooper and its 2022 sixth-round pick, No. 202 overall, to Cleveland for Cleveland's 2022 fifth-round pick, No. 155, and sixth-round pick, No. 193.⁴⁵⁶¹⁷

Cooper had caught 68 passes for 865 yards and eight touchdowns in 2021. His $20 million salary for 2022 was due to become fully guaranteed on March 20, and Dallas had been shopping Cooper for salary-cap relief.⁴

Dallas drafted North Dakota offensive tackle Matt Waletzko at No. 155 and Oklahoma State linebacker Devin Harper at No. 193.⁶ Cleveland drafted Oklahoma wide receiver Michael Woods II at No. 202.¹⁷²²

Dallas had acquired Cooper from Oakland for a first-round pick in 2018, when Cooper was 24.¹ In 2022, at 27, Dallas traded him for a fifth-round pick, a sixth-round pick, and a move up of nine places in the sixth round, from No. 202 to No. 193.⁴⁶¹⁷

Cleveland to Buffalo, October 2024

Cooper started all 17 games for Cleveland in 2022 and caught a career-best nine touchdown passes.⁸ In 2023 he caught 72 passes for a career-high 1,250 yards, earned his fifth Pro Bowl selection, and set Cleveland's single-game record with 265 receiving yards against the Houston Texans.⁷

Cleveland was 1-5 when it made the trade, and its offense ranked last in the NFL at 240 yards per game through six weeks.¹⁵ Cooper was 30 and in the final year of his contract, which Cleveland had restructured in July 2024.⁷ Buffalo was 4-2 after beating the New York Jets on Monday, October 14, and made the trade on October 15, hours after the Las Vegas Raiders traded Davante Adams to the Jets.⁹⁷ Buffalo had traded Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans in April 2024, and Buffalo's leading receiver through six weeks was Khalil Shakir, with 249 yards.¹⁶⁹

On October 15, 2024, Buffalo sent a 2025 third-round pick and a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick to Cleveland for Cooper and a 2025 sixth-round pick.⁹¹⁷ It was the third trade of Cooper's career.⁹

Cooper missed two games with a wrist injury.¹⁸ He caught 20 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns in eight games for Buffalo, then caught six passes for 41 yards in three playoff games as Buffalo lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.¹⁰¹⁴ His 547 receiving yards for the 2024 season were a career low.¹⁰¹³

Cleveland drafted Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel at No. 94 with the third-round pick.¹¹ The sixth-round pick Buffalo received in the trade, No. 204 overall, was originally Detroit's. Buffalo traded the pick to Dallas in March 2025, and Dallas drafted Oregon offensive lineman Ajani Cornelius with it.¹²¹⁷²⁰²¹

The three prices

The first trade cost Dallas a first-round pick for a 24-year-old receiver.¹ The second cost Cleveland a fifth-round pick, a sixth-round pick, and a move down of nine places in the sixth round for a 27-year-old whose $20 million salary was due to become fully guaranteed on March 20, 2022, four days after the trade became official.⁴⁶¹⁷ The third cost Buffalo a third-round pick and a conditional seventh-round pick, with a sixth-round pick coming back, for a 30-year-old in the final year of his contract, and Cooper played eight regular-season games for Buffalo.⁹¹⁷⁷¹⁴

Cooper signed with the Las Vegas Raiders on August 25, 2025. The Raiders franchise had drafted Cooper fourth overall in 2015, when the team played in Oakland. On September 4, 2025, three days before the Raiders' season opener, Cooper told the team he no longer had the desire to play, Ian Rapoport reported.¹³¹⁹ He finished his career with 711 catches for 10,033 receiving yards and five Pro Bowl selections in ten seasons.¹³⁸

Trade terms, teams, and dates verified against the site's trade tree for this deal and cross-checked with the sources below.

Sources

Explore the trade tree behind this story:

Amari Cooper (2018-2024) trade tree

About this article: it was drafted with AI assistance from the Football Trade Trees database and public reporting, then reviewed by a human editor. Spot an error? Email [email protected].