Star Playmaker Suffers Injury Scare at Browns Practice on Thursday

Update: Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters on Thursday that Cooper is "sore," per Zac Jackson.

The Cleveland Browns are hosting joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings this week as they prepare for their preseason tilt on Saturday afternoon.

Joint practices are a great way for the starters to get their work in as it's unlikely they will play in the preseason. At Thursday’s joint practice, the Browns had a scary situation involving one of their top offensive playmakers.

Zac Jackson of The Athletic reported that star wide receiver Amari Cooper left the practice field. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com added that she saw Cooper “come up a little awkward” after a catch.

We currently don’t know the type of injury Cooper is dealing with. However, Browns fans aren’t excited to hear this news as the depth behind the veteran wide receiver isn’t great. 

Cleveland has seen Jerry Jeudy miss some time at the start of training camp because of injury and saw Elijah Moore get banged up in practice. Nonetheless, the Browns can ill-afford to lose Cooper for any amount of time as he’s been their best pass catcher over the last two seasons.

Last season, the 30-year-old wide receiver had 72 receptions (128 targets) for 1,250 yards and five touchdowns. It was Cooper’s second consecutive season with 1,000-plus receiving yards, which is impressive, given the Browns’ inconsistent QB play in 2023.

Last month, Cooper had his $18.79 salary for the 2024 season converted into his signing bonus and received $5 million in incentives.

Nevertheless, we hope to find out more about why Cooper left the field after Thursday’s joint practice wraps up.

More Browns news and analysis: