Report: Browns, Amari Cooper agrees to contract changes following trade from Cowboys

The Cleveland Browns have restructured newly acquired wide receiver Amari Cooper‘s contract, creating additional cap space for the 2022 season. The Browns’ offseason has been filled with a flurry of moves. After making the splash trade for Cooper, Cleveland made arguably one of the most impactful trades of this offseason, acquiring Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans. And now, with these two big-name talents a part of the franchise, the Browns are making moves to ensure they can keep their core together for the long run.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Cleveland’s move adds just over $15 million in cap room for the 2022 season.

“ The #Browns restructured WR Amari Cooper’s contract, converting most of his $20 million base salary into a signing bonus, adding two void years and saving over $15M on the 2022 salary cap,” wrote Pelissero via Twitter.

Cooper’s new contract restructuring will resemble that of Watson’s. The Browns are essentially giving both players big bonuses instead of paying them throughout the season with game checks. By restructuring the contracts this way, both Cooper and Watson are getting paid up front with their bonuses. And, in turn, it minimizes their cap hit to the franchise.

“ So Cleveland is set to pay its two new additions $66 million cash in 2022, but they’ll count only about $15 million combined on the cap,” wrote Pelissero.

Why Watson picked the Browns over the Saints and Falcons

Deshaun Watson’s decision to join the Cleveland Browns might seem puzzling at first, but insider Ian Rapoport believes it makes plenty of sense. The three-time Pro Bowler quarterback is set to receive a five-year, $230 million contract as part of the trade between Cleveland and Houston, which certainly doesn’t hurt.

He is also set to join an offense that recently acquired receiver Amari Cooper from the Dallas Cowboys and returns a talented running back duo of Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb. In a recent appearance on NFL Network, Rapoport broke down all this as well as what this move means for the future of the Browns franchise.

“Here we have Deshaun Watson, who had a lot of really good options — had the Panthers, had the Saints, had the Falcons — and chose the Cleveland Browns, a team that has searched literally forever to find a quarterback,” Rapoport said. “He chose them as the place where he was going to be their franchise quarterback. The money helped, definitely get it, but it is for football reasons. He chose them for football reasons. He thought it was the best place for him to win football games and that makes a lot of sense.