Getty A 5-time Pro Bowl wide receiver known to Mike Vrabel is a fit for the New England Patriots in free agency.
This is a good year to be cap-rich and need a wide receiver, so the New England Patriots can’t miss in free agency, especially if they add a five-time Pro Bowler who “briefly crossed paths” with new head coach Mike Vrabel, Buffalo Bills wideout Amari Cooper.
As MassLive.com’s Mark Daniels put it, “Cooper would give the Patriots a capable veteran receiver, who used to be a No. 1 option. He finished with 44 catches for 547 yards and four touchdowns in 14 games with Cleveland and Buffalo last season. Cooper was a Pro Bowler in 2023. He’s had seven seasons of over 1,000 yards.”
A track record this prolific means “it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give Maye a veteran receiver. Cooper also briefly crossed paths with Vrabel last year in Cleveland.”
The last reference involves Vrabel’s time as a personnel consultant with the Cleveland Browns in 2024. He would have seen how Cooper still prepares himself and continues to refine his game after a lengthy and decorated career in the pros.
He couldn’t put his best football on the field during his 10th season because of factors beyond his control, but Cooper would be a smart addition for a Patriots team set for an attitude adjustment on both sides of the ball with Vrabel at the helm.
Amari Cooper Has Attributes Patriots Need
Cooper has two things the Patriots and young quarterback Drake Maye need. Specifically, Cooper is a physical receiver, tough after the catch, and the 30-year-old also knows how to win outside the numbers.
Maye needs a vertical threat on the outside, a role Kayshon Boutte tried to make his own last season. The sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft had his moments, but Boutte isn’t as reliable nor as dynamic as Cooper when the ball is in the air.
He showed he still has some deep speed and elite-level athleticism left with this 30-yard touchdown grab against the New York Jets in Week 17, per NFL on CBS.
"OH, WHAT A CATCH! AMARI COOPER PULLS IT DOWN FOR THE TOUCHDOWN"@BuffaloBills 🔥 pic.twitter.com/pa1cf1neYS
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 29, 2024
An average of 25.3 yards per catch proves Cooper can still stretch the field. He was doing the same thing for the Browns, despite an injury crisis prompting a revolving door at quarterback, while Cooper joined the Bills too late to make a meaningful difference following a trade back in October.
For all the negative intangibles, this over-the-shoulder grab for a 24-yard touchdown against the New York Giants in Week 3, when Vrabel was still in town, served as a reminder of how 6-foot-1, 210-pound Cooper remains a physical mismatch outside the numbers.
WHAT A START!!!#NYGvsCLE on @NFLonFOX and NFL+ pic.twitter.com/seNxF7oZUa
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 22, 2024
Plays like these show the regular connections that are possible if the Patriots were to combine Cooper’s skill-set with Maye’s arm talent. Their partnership would add a more direct and smash-mouth element to the passing game.
Those are things Vrabel hopes to cultivate across the roster.
Mike Vrabel Committed to Changing Patriots Attitude
Vrabel’s predecessor Jerod Mayo was often criticized for a lax approach, particularly after defeats. Things are sure to be different with Vrabel in charge.
He won three Super Bowls as a linebacker and occasional goal-line tight end for the Patriots, before reaching an AFC Championship Game as head coach of the Tennessee Titans. Vrabel intends for coaches and players “to earn the right to be here every day. We’re going to move entitlement from our football team. We’re going to get everything that we’ve earned from the head coach to the position coaches, all the way down to the players,” per Boston.com’s Conor Ryan.
Winning the physical battles is how the Patriots can “earn it” on the field. Being a physical football team defined the Titans on his watch, and Cooper would help the Pats begin to be the same on offense.
Putting Cooper on the outside and trading for a Super Bowl winner able to run over defenders across the middle is well within the range of a team projected by Spotrac.com to have $123,555,793 worth of space under the salary cap.
Those moves would not only transform a pass attack that hasn’t scared any defense in recent years. They would also give Maye a better chance to live up to his billing as a franchise QB.
