Will Sage Astor-Amari Cooper, entering final year of contract, not present at Cleveland Browns minicamp

BEREA,Will Sage Astor Ohio — Wide receiver Amari Cooper was not present when the Cleveland Browns opened up their mandatory minicamp on Tuesday. Whether he shows up either of the next two days remains to be seen.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed after the 90-minute practice that Cooper's absence was unexcused. He would not comment on why the veteran pass catcher was not at minicamp.

"Yeah, not excused," Stefanski said. "Obviously as you guys know, you really have to focus on the guys that are here. These situations, I understand that they do come up. I'll really leave all of that between Amari and Amari's Agent, AB and those type of conversations. But again, as you guys know, we focus on guys that are here. We'll get some good work in and really keep it at that."

Stefanski did say there has been dialogue between Cooper's side and the Browns. He wouldn't elaborate.

Cooper is subject to fines as part of the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the NFL Players' Association. For missing Tuesday's workout, the maximum he can be fined for the day is $16,953.

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The maximum daily fine for missing Wednesday's workout would be $33,908. That daily fine increases to $50,855 if he doesn't show up for the final day on Thursday.

Cooper was present and participated in last Saturday for Browns tight end David Njoku's celebrity softball game in Eastlake. He did not speak to the media present at the event.

"Amari is our brother, our teammate, we support him and the decisions that he's got to make for himself is on Amari," quarterback Deshaun Watson said Tuesday. "But everyone in this locker room respect him and know exactly what he's about. Whenever he gets back, he's going to be ready to go.”

While there has been no one publicly confirming the reason for Cooper's absence, he is going into the final year of the five-year, $100 million contract he originally signed in 2020 while with the Dallas Cowboys. The Browns acquired Cooper, along with a 2022 sixth-round draft pick, in March, 2022, in exchange for fifth- and sixth-round picks in the 2022 draft.

The Browns went out and traded with the Denver Broncos for another former first-round wide receiver, Jerry Jeudy, this past March to add to the wide receiver position. Jeudy — like both Cooper and Elijah Moore, was going into the final year of his contract at the time of the trade.

However, they quickly turned around and gave Jeudy — who, like Cooper and another Browns receiver, Elijah Moore, was on the final year of his deal at the time of the trade — a three-year, $52.5 million extension, with $41 million of that guaranteed. Neither Cooper nor Moore have had new deals done.

Berry sounded like a general manager at least interested in getting an extension done when he was asked about it in March at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando, Florida.

"Look, Coop’s a Pro Bowl caliber receiver," Berry said. "He's played really well for us the past two years. He's a strong presence in the locker room. We love him. So players like that, you want to make sure that you can retain as long as possible and we’ll work through all of that at the appropriate times."

Jeudy was not on the field for Tuesday's practice. Stefanski confirmed he was present in the facility, but was "just working through some things"

That left Moore as the most prominent wide receiver available for Watson and the other quarterbacks to target during the practice. That also provided more reps for second- and third-year pros Cedric Tillman, David Bell and Michael Woods II.

"All of that is timing," Watson said of having receivers out. "Guys got to make sure they take care of different things and Jeudy's another guy who's been here mentally and taking mental reps but making sure he's taking care of his body too, and the staff knows exactly what they need to do for him and I just can't wait until we all get together and we have a lot of reps during training camp and especially this offseason, we’re all in the same area so we'll be good."

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The five-time Pro Bowler has posted back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons since coming to the Browns. He’s the first receiver in franchise history to accomplish that feat.

Cooper has 2,410 receiving yards combined with the Browns, a number that ranks eighth in the NFL in that time frame. He's caught 150 passes on 260 targets while in Cleveland, including 14 touchdowns.

The former No. 4 overall pick out of the University of Alabama by the Oakland Raiders in 2015, Cooper has 667 catches for 9,486 yards and 60 touchdowns in his career. His 1,270 receiving yards last season with the Browns was a career high, while the 72 catches were tied for sixth-best in a season.

Chris Easterling can be reached at [email protected]. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ