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It’s no secret that the San Francisco 49ers are desperate at wide receiver.
Injuries have struck the position with the might of Thor’s hammer. A three-game suspension for Demarcus Robinson, though expected, is the cherry on top.
It’s what led the 49ers to trade for Skyy Moore from the Kansas City Chiefs. However, Moore doesn’t move the needle at all.
He’s mostly the answer as a punt returner than receiver, which means Junior Bergen is cooked. But not as cooked as the 49ers are at wide receiver.
Another player added would be useful, like Amari Cooper. Unfortunately, the 49ers are too late. Cooper is reuniting with the Las Vegas Raiders on a deal worth up to $6 million.
Cooper isn’t getting much from the Raiders, especially when half of the deal is incentive-based. It’s a price the 49ers easily could’ve afforded, even with their frugal approach this year.
The 49ers reportedly had interest in him, so there was an idea of adding him. However, despite the cost being affordable, the 49ers are wise to pass on Cooper
49ers were wise to pass on Amari Cooper
He’s not a fit for the 49ers. Cooper is a finesse receiver with zero impact as a blocker. He’s not that tough nor demonstrates a lot of grit that Kyle Shanahan wants out of his receivers.
Yes, the 49ers had intrigue in Cooper last year when he was offered in a trade from the Cleveland Browns for Brandon Aiyuk.
But that was to help shrink the hole left by Aiyuk, and it probably wouldn’t have shrunk by much either.
Cooper regressed a lot last year, which is part of why the Browns traded him to the Buffalo Bills. It was a sensible trade for Buffalo to give their star quarterback, Josh Allen, a new weapon.
However, the Bills hardly got anything out of Cooper. He tallied 20 catches for 297 yards and two touchdowns in eight games played with Buffalo.
Was his fit in the offense misjudged? Maybe. But I’m not giving Cooper a pass on this when he got to play with the NFL MVP. If he couldn’t excel with Allen, why would any other team think he could do it with them?
It’s no wonder Cooper went unsigned as long as he did. He couldn’t generate numbers playing with Allen, and it indicates that he’s now washed.
The only reason the Raiders signed him is that Jakobi Meyers requested a trade due to a contract dispute. Cooper is the Raiders’ answer to that, but he was never going to be an answer to the 49ers’ problems at receiver.
They have more than enough quality players. They just need their injury luck to improve. Cooper would’ve just cut into valuable reps for others and gotten everyone’s hopes up when he can’t produce at a high level consistently anymore.
There are a lot of criticisms to be had with the 49ers for their personnel decisions this year, but not signing Cooper isn’t one of them.
Read more 49ers on SI
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