The Cleveland Browns pulled out an 18-13 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars but star receiver Amari Cooper was missing in action for a second week in a row.
Cooper caught just three passes for 11 yards in the win. That comes after a Week 1 outing where he had just two catches for 16 yards.
Cooper does not seem to be on the same page with quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was improved in his second game of the season. Watson wasn’t perfect but finished his day 22 of 34 for 186 yards and a rushing score.
Browns head coach and offensive play-called Kevin Stefanski isn’t worried about Cooper.
“Coop’s a pro,” Stefanski said in his postgame press conference. “He’ll be just fine.”
Cooper and Watson have just been unable to connect. Watson has targeted his Pro Bowler a team-high 17 times through two weeks, but it’s resulted in just five catches.
“Deshaun is Deshaun,” Cooper said after Week 1. “He’s a playmaker at the end of the day. Obviously, the game didn’t go how we wanted it to go. We just have to execute better. We went out there and played a good Cowboys team that has been good for a few years now. It takes a collective effort. I’d say as a whole group, we didn’t execute how we wanted to.”
Amari Cooper in Contract Year With Browns
Cooper isn’t a diva, but he’s entering a pivotal year. With the Browns opting not to extend him this offseason, he’s set to become a free agent next year. Without the numbers to back him up, securing the kind of deal he’s aiming for could be a long shot.
After Cooper staged a holdout in minicamp, the Browns opted to restructure his deal, guaranteeing him his $20 million salary and adding $5 million in incentives.
“I’m content for sure. Obviously I wanted more guarantees in the contract, just because I feel like I’ve earned it,” Cooper said on Thursday, July 25. “But you know, you can always get what you wish for all the time. It’s definitely noted. If I have to go earn it, that’s what I’ll do.”
Cooper, 30, is coming off one of the best years of his career. He caught 72 passes for 1,250 yards and five touchdowns. However, a chunk of that production came without Watson as his quarterback.
Cooper caught 78 passes for 1,160 yards in 2022 and added nine touchdowns.
Deshaun Watson Has Strong Connection With Jerry Jeudy
Part of the issue for Cooper could be that the Browns have more talent in the mix. The Browns traded for former first-round pick Jerry Jeudy this offseason and his connection with Watson has been strong so far.
Jeudy led the Browns in receiving yards against the Jaguars, notching five catches for 73. He had a beautiful tip-toe catch on the sideline in the fourth quarter after a Watson scramble and also hauled in a beautiful 30-yard grab in the second half.
Jeudy and Watson didn’t have a lot of time to build a relationship. The former Denver Broncos receiver was banged up during training camp and Watson did not play in the preseason.
“It’s about communication,” Jeudy said about developing chemistry with Watson in August. “We stay communicating with each other. I pick his brain a little bit, where he wants me to be in certain routes, in certain situations. And I consistently ask him questions, what he thinks about my route. I think that’s the biggest thing since I haven’t had much repetition on the field.”
Whatever they’re doing, it seems to have worked and the Browns have another dangerous weapon in the passing game.
J.R. DeGroote covers the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com. He graduated from Arizona State and has decades of experience in digital media with previous stops at SBNation and Bleacher Report. He has won multiple state, regional and national honors for sports reporting and photography. More about J.R. DeGroote
