(Image via totalprosports.com) 

Staff Writer: Aidan Danforth

Email: adanforth@umassd.edu  

This past Monday might go down as the most eventful 24-hours NFL fans have seen in recent history. There’s not one, but two elite wide receivers moving to new teams. 

Davante Adams and Amari Cooper have expressed wanting out of their respective teams for some time, and now their wishes have been granted. Adams got shipped to the Jets to reunite with his long-time quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. Cooper signed with the Bills to play with arguably the league’s top quarterback.

 In 2022, Adams was traded from the Green Bay Packers to the Las Vegas Raiders to reconnect with former college teammate Derek Carr. 

Adams saw instant success as he caught 100 passes for 1516 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also achieved his sixth Pro Bowl and third straight first-team all-pro. 

The Raiders didn’t have a great year, finishing 6-11, but more importantly, Carr was benched for the final two games of the 2022 season. In the offseason, Vegas moved on from Derek Carr one year after Adams’s arrival. 

Carr’s departure hurt Adams because he was the reason he joined the Raiders. To replace Carr, the Raiders signed Jimmy Garoppolo and drafted Aidan O’Connell. 

Both quarterbacks were significant downgrades. Garoppolo struggled and was benched after seven games. O’Connell started for the second half and looked better, but it wasn’t a big upgrade. 

Despite quarterback struggles, Adams had a good season. His stats weren’t jaw-dropping, but Las Vegas did improve to an 8-9 record. 

Heading into 2024, the Raiders had a quarterback competition between Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew. Minshew won the starting job, which is where the beginning of the end came for Adams. 

After three games, Adams suffered a hamstring injury that had him miss the next six games. Fans already anticipated Adams’s departure due to the poor QB play and lack of a winning environment. 

Week 3 was Adams’s last game as a Raider, as three weeks later, he was traded to the Jets for a conditional third-round pick.  

Adams’s homecoming may help turn the Jets around. The Jets have struggled offensively with Aaron Rodgers, and now he has his number-one target from when he was in Green Bay. Rodger’s won two MVPs with Adams, and the two have developed some of the best QB-WR chemistry in the NFL. 

Jet’s offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett, has struggled with the Jets offense. This caused him to be demoted from play-calling duties. Now, Luke Getsy is the new OC who hopes to utilize New York’s playmakers better. 

New York has an offense consisting of Rodgers, Adams, Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, and a revamped offensive line. That, combined with an elite defense, could be the key to dig them out of their 2-4 hole. 

Amari Cooper 

Like Adams, Cooper was part of the wide receiver train in 2022 when he was traded to the Cleveland Browns. The Browns received Cooper to pair him with newly acquired Deshaun Watson, who looked to be the answer to their quarterback woes. 

For most of Cooper’s first year, he played with Jacoby Brissett due to Watson’s 11-game suspension. Cooper is still producing by finishing with 78 catches, 1160 yards, and nine touchdowns. 

When Watson played, Cooper played the role of an elite wide receiver. Watson struggled, but that was expected due to his off-the-field issues and sitting out all of 2021. 

Cleveland finished with a record of 7-10 and left fans optimistic for improvement next year. The team had a promising offense along with a defense that turned into one of the league’s deadliest. 

2023 saw unexpected success for Cleveland. Watson struggled the first six games and was ruled out for the season with a shoulder injury. That began the Browns QB carousel as they were forced to start five quarterbacks. 

That didn’t stop the Browns from finishing with a record of 11-6 and a wildcard birth. Cooper thrived despite the changing signal callers. The team lost in the wildcard round as questions began regarding the Browns’s future at QB. 

Heading in 2024, Watson was the starter and was expected to take a big step. What happened was the exact opposite. Watson looked as clueless as ever as the Browns began with an atrocious 1-5 record. 

With that, Cleveland decided to hit the reset button and trade Cooper to the Bills for a third-round pick. Cooper has gone from a dumpster fire organization to one of the best run teams with elite QB Josh Allen. 

The Bills have lacked a true number-one wide receiver since the departure of Stefon Diggs. Buffalo is still sitting at 4-2 with the AFC East supremacy. 

Cooper’s addition gives the Bills just what they need. A reliable pass catcher that can help give Buffalo the edge over AFC contenders. 

Unlike the Jets, the Bills are in no danger. Josh Allen is playing at an MVP level and will continue to do so with Cooper. The rest of the offense and defense are great, as they are a prime AFC contender. 

Only one question mark remains:

Can Cooper’s addition help Buffalo overcome teams like the Chiefs and Texans and represent the AFC in the Super Bowl?