WHITE SULFUR SPRINGS, W.Va — Amari Cooper has been in the NFL for 10 years. He had never missed an OTA, he never missed a minicamp. But that all changed this year.
Cooper skipped the offseason workouts and was subject to fines for missing minicamp as he awaited a new contract. It was foreign to him but not indicative of any ill will towards the Browns.
"I mean I love to practice," Cooper said. "To be honest, holding out was never in the cards. I don't have any experience doing it. I am a routine kind of guy, and I'm the type of guy I need those reps, you know what I mean? So I always knew I was going to be here at training camp for sure."
The process was not one Cooper enjoyed being a part of, but one he and the team understood to be just business at the end of the day.
"Sometimes that's just the nature of the business, the nature of the beast. I mean, if that was to happen, one of the things that AB [General Manager Andrew Berry] was telling me and telling my agent, he was just saying not to take it personal and I wasn't taking it personal because I understand that it's business at the end of the day," Cooper said. "So I would have to attribute it to that. If things got contentious in that way, I would hope that the organization didn't take it personal because it's never personal."
Head coach Kevin Stefanski joked that he was glad not to have Berry's job but delighted to have Cooper back to work.
“As you know, there’s the business side of football, we all have agents, those things. I don’t want Andrew’s job, so he deals with those type of things. And I trust Andrew and, you know, you trust the people involved in that decision. But excited for Amari," Stefanski said.
Cooper got a deal done on the day veterans reported to Berea for training camp. It was a 1-year contract restructure that guaranteed his $20 million base salary this year and added $5 more in incentives. With the deal, Cooper and the Browns avoided a holdout, and the wide receiver quickly got back to work.
RELATED: WR Amari Cooper agrees to 1-year contract restructure with Browns
"I'm content for sure. Obviously I wanted more guarantees in the contract, just because I feel like I've earned it. But you can't always get what you wish for all the time, but it's definitely noted. If I have to go earn it, that's what I'll do," he said.
For Cooper, being content doesn't just mean for now. While the deal was just a one-year restructure that still sees him set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2024 season, Cooper hasn't ruled out the possibility of another deal that would keep him in orange and brown longer.
"It's been nothing but success here in terms of what I've been able to do on the field. I look to get better each and every year while I'm here. I'm really the type of guy that takes heed to old sayings. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. So I'm not really trying to go somewhere else. You never know. The grass isn't always greener on the other side, so I would rather stay where I'm thriving," Cooper admitted Thursday after the first practice at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia.
Since the Browns traded for Cooper in 2022, the wide receiver has been a staple of the offense. Cooper has recorded 2,410 receiving yards with 14 touchdowns in two seasons. He's set the franchise record for most receiving yards in a single game. He's been a reliable weapon through a carousel of quarterbacks.
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The Browns have relied heavily on Cooper's productivity—and Cooper hopes that continues as he envisions spending the rest of his career in Cleveland, saying he would like to finish his playing days with the Browns when asked on Thursday.
"Yeah, I would. I'm really the type of guy, I don't really like change. I mean, if change happens, which a lot of times it inevitably does, you have to be able to adjust and adapt to any situation. So I'm very adaptable, but at the same time, I don't necessarily like the change. So, yeah, I want to be here," Cooper said.
But for now, Cooper is happy to be back at work and looking forward to 2024 before getting too far ahead of himself.
"I'm not thinking about it at all. I mean, we had some sort of resolve with it and at the end of the day, it is what it is. I'm very appreciative. Like I said before, I understand the position that I'm in is a very blessed one and just moving forward, I'm very optimistic in what I'll be able to do on the field. So at the end of the day, it all comes down to how you play. I mean, we know that, right? So just gotta go out there and do my thing," Cooper said.
The Browns opened up their first day of training camp but two players won't be participating in the action here or back in Berea as Stefanski announced that cornerback Greg Newsome II and defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson are both out for camp.
RELATED: Browns CB Greg Newsome II, DT Dalvin Tomlinson out for training camp following surgeries
