BEREA, Ohio — Amari Cooper picked a good week to stay off social media.
With several NFL teams needing a premier receiver, Cooper’s name has been mentioned all over the internet as a possible trade target. In fact, ESPN’s Adam Schefter cited him as the possible primary choice for the Chiefs with their top wideout, Rashee Rice, on injured reserve with a knee injury.
But Cooper, who shunned social media this week in the wake of his uneven game against the Raiders, has been oblivious to the speculation.
“No, I’m not aware of it, no,” Cooper said Thursday. “Usually if I don’t have a good game, I try to stay off of social media. That’s one thing that I’ve learned, because I can be kind of sensitive about the way that I play, and just being on social media, there’s nothing about hiding that. So no, I haven’t seen any of seen of it.”
Cooper’s performance (4 of 8 targets, 35 yards) during Sunday’s 20-16 loss to the Raiders included a deflected pick off his chest that the Raiders converted into a touchdown for a 20-10 command, and an 82-yard catch-and-run that was wiped out by a holding call against Nick Harris. Cooper was also flagged 5 yards for an illegal shift later in the third quarter to wipe out a 10-yard pass to Blake Whiteheart for a first down at midfield. Watson was sacked on the next play, and the Browns punted from their 29 four plays later.
Finally, Cooper explained that he messed up his route on the final fourth and 3 play from the 9 with the gamewinning touchdown pass on the line.
He was so upset with himself and about the loss that he bolted the field before anyone and was gone from the locker room by the time reporters got in.
“Of course, I’d be lying if I say I wasn’t, so, yeah. I didn’t feel good about the way we performed, about the way I performed,” he said. “So I think that’s an accurate way to describe it.”
A minicamp holdout because of a contract dispute, Cooper acknowledged that his sensitivity over his performance is rooted in pride. He cares deeply about his craft, and about helping his team win.
“That’s one way to look at it most definitely,” he said. “I think every athlete has a sense of pride in the way that they play. At the end of the day, we all just want to be respected for our performance, and you tend to get disrespected if you don’t hold yourself to that standard. So I wouldn’t say that’s an inaccurate way to describe it. It has a lot to do with pride.”
Conversely, he won’t avoid his phone after a typical “Coop” performance.
“I’m not afraid to hop on social media if I have a good game,” he said. “But it’s not that I’m just searching for what people are saying about it on social media if I have a good game.”
A five-time Pro Bowler, Cooper held himself accountable for the mistake he felt he made on that crucial fourth and 3 from the 9 at the end of the game. Deshaun Watson has taken plenty of grief for not throwing it to an open tight end Jordan Akins in the end zone, but Cooper indicated that if he had run his route correctly, it’s a likely touchdown and Browns victory.
“First and foremost, I know I could have ran a better route,” he said. “I was actually the first read on that route. I didn’t like the leverage that the defensive back was giving me, and so I kind of chopped off the route and just prepared for a scramble drill when I should have probably just broke it off. So I say that to say there’s a lot of moving parts that outsiders don’t truly understand about the particulars of any given play. So yeah, we all could have done better on that play.”
The play actually began with defensive tackle Christian Wilkins storming past rookie guard Zak Zinter, and Charles Snowden looping around and helping to flush Watson to his left before hitting his arm and sacking him. After Cooper failed to win the route, Watson didn’t have time to find Akins.
But Watson gave his WR1 and enormous vote of confidence on Wednesday, saying he’ll always come right back to him with the utmost faith.
“We trust in him,” Watson said. “I believe in him. I have full a hundred percent trust in Coop and anytime I need to get him the ball and give him an opportunity, usually he makes those plays. So I’m gonna rely on that percentage rather than a couple plays haven’t happened.”
His words meant a lot to Cooper, who began the season with two bad games and then rebounded vs. the Giants with 86 yards and two TD catches.
“You never really want to put your quarterback in that position to lose faith in you, and even have to answer those type of questions,” Cooper said. “But, yeah, I’m more so looking at it from the other way around, just him just having complete faith in me based off my performance, not lack thereof. So looking to get the ball back rolling with my play and not have to even talk about these type of things.”
Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey also has complete confidence in his No. 1 receiver, who’s likely drawing trade interest because he’s in the final year of his contract and the Browns are 1-3. The Browns pondered trading him to the 49ers for Brandin Aiyuk, but Cooper said earlier this season that hasn’t stuck with him. If anything he attribute the rocky start more to skipping the offseason program and holding out of minicamp
“Coop is consistent,” Dorsey said. “I like his approach, his attitude, his mentality, his desire to help our team win, and he brings that to work into the game, every game. He might not be the ‘rah rah’ guy or whatever, but his mentality and his approach is consistent. I love watching him come out to work because he works hard for us in practice. And I think you see that in the game as well. And I know there’s been certain times where it hasn’t gone his way but he’s a pro and he’s the type of player that makes special plays for us.
“We’re going to continue to grind, and I think he will, too. He’s done a really good job so far this week to put himself in position. And when you look at last game, it’s a couple things away from having a huge game. We’re excited with the direction that he’s taken and the plays that he’s making for us when he gets those opportunities.”
Cooper’s gut-check after the Jaguars game resulted in his best game of the season the following week against the Giants. He’s hoping for a similar result in Washington on Sunday.
“Sometimes it’s the way the cookie crumbles, the ebbs and flow of the game,” he said. “You might not play good every week. But it’s all about the next week. You’ve got to put certain things in the rear-view mirror and just focus on the dash. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
