Buffalo Bills could lose star WR to AFC East rival

The Buffalo Bills could lose a star wide receiver to an AFC East rival this offseason.

Evan Massey | 2 Hours Ago

Nov 17, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Amari Cooper (18) makes a catch against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half at Highmark Stadium. / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

In this story:

Buffalo Bills | News, Scores, Schedules & Standings

The Buffalo Bills made a major trade ahead of the NFL trade deadline to acquire wide receiver Amari Cooper from the Cleveland Browns.

While Cooper has yet to play up to the level that he has consistently played at throughout his career, he showed a major sign of elevating his play last week. In Week 14, he caught six passes for 95 yards.

Cooper is more than capable of turning things on down the stretch of the season. He is still one of the best wide receivers in the NFL from a talent perspective.

With that in mind, Cooper is in the final year of his contract. If the Bills want to keep him past the 2024 season, they will need to pay up in order to do so.

That being said, there are quite a few teams around the NFL that could use help at wide receiver.

Nick Goss of NBC Sports Boston mentioned Cooper as a potential fit at a position of need for the AFC East rival New England Patriots. Depending on how the chips fall this offseason, the Patriots could be a threat to steal Cooper away, especially with the massive amount of cap space they have to work with.

So far this season split between the Browns and Buffalo, Cooper has racked up 40 receptions for 481 yards and three touchdowns. At 30 years old, he's still capable of being a No. 1 wideout.

Losing Cooper would be a tough blow for the Bills' offense. Ending up losing him to a division rival would make it even more painful.

Buffalo has to get aggressive in surrounding Allen with the best talent that they possibly can. Cooper could be a big part of the offense for at least a few more years if they decide to keep him around.

It is going to be interesting to see what the Bills decide to do with Cooper this offseason. They seem likely to try and keep him, but there are other teams around the NFL who would love to sneak in and convince him to leave Buffalo.

— Enjoy free coverage of the Bills from Buffalo Bills on SI —