Browns: Amari Cooper announces retirement due to issue’s…. see more
he Cleveland Browns are among the oldest franchises in the NFL. Although this iteration of the team only began play in 1999, it has inherited the history and records of the first Browns franchise that played in Cleveland between 1946 and 1995.
In all that time, the Browns have not managed back-to-back seasons in which one of their pass-catchers has posted 1,000 receiving yards. Amari Cooper is hoping to become the first in 2023.
Cooper’s quietly-good 2022
In his first season with Cleveland, Cooper put together one of the best campaigns of his career. The four-time Pro Bowl selection led the Browns with 78 catches, 1,160 receiving yards, and nine touchdown grabs — much of it without Deshaun Watson, who played just six games in 2022.
Cooper became Cleveland’s first 1,000-yard receiver in three years, since Odell Beckham (1,035 yards) and Jarvis Landry (1,174 yards) in the 2019 season. Landry hasn’t had a 1,000-yard season since, while Beckham has been plagued by injury in recent years and is hoping to return to form in 2023 with the Baltimore Ravens — the current identity of the original Browns franchise.
Cleveland’s futility at wideout
In Browns history, only 15 players have recorded a season with at least 1,000 receiving yards, and only one — Ozzie Newsome — did it multiple times, in 1981 and in 1984.
