Amari Cooper trade: Dallas Cowboys send Cooper to Cleveland Browns

The next time the Dallas Cowboys face the New York Giants, they will do so without wide receiver Amari Cooper.

Dallas is reportedly finalizing a trade that will send Cooper and a sixth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a fifth-round pick and sixth-round pick in what amounts to a cost-saving move for the Cowboys.

Josina Anderson was first with the news, and Adam Schefter reported the compensation.

Cooper is entering the third year of a five-year deal that pays him $20 million annually, making him the league’s sixth-highest-paid receiver.

He is coming off his third consecutive season with more than 800 receiving yards, but the Cowboys are likely happy to get anything in return for a player they were expected to release. Cleveland, meanwhile, starts to rebuild its receiving corps after cutting ties with Odell Beckham Jr. last season.

Cooper, who arrived in Dallas after a 2018 trade with the Oakland Raiders, faced the Giants seven times while on the Cowboys. He totaled 349 receiving yards and three touchdowns in those games.

The move cements CeeDee Lamb as the top receiving threat on the Cowboys. Lamb had over 900 receiving yards in each of his first two NFL seasons.

The new league year begins on Wednesday, at which point trades can become official.