As the Browns hosted their first mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, Cleveland wide receiver Amari Cooper stayed away from the team’s practice.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski later insuated Cooper skipped as he seeks a contract extension in the final year of his current deal.
Former Browns player and podcast host Josh Cribbs weighed in on the situation, offering his belief that Cleveland’s GM Andrew Berry would come through with a strong contract offer for Cooper soon.
“Good faith deals will happen,” Cribbs said of the prospective contract extension during “The Return With Josh And Maria Cribbs” Podcast on Tuesday.
Cribbs noted that Berry could present an extension with the largest portion of Cooper’s larger pay backloaded for the final years of the extension.
Berry has stayed under the team’s salary cap while finding money to extend several players in his time atop the Browns’ organization, Cribbs added.
The host also explained that the mandatory OTA session – the final offseason phase before the team reports to training camp in July – is the opportune time to hold out for a new deal.
Cribbs noted that the team would not be distracted by Cooper’s holdout now as it would have no bearing on building team chemistry.
Cooper – who turns 30 years old this month – is in line for perhaps his final eight- or nine-figure extension due to his age, Cribbs surmised.
Last season, Cooper recorded his second consecutive season with 1,000-plus receiving yards for the Browns, his sixth overall time achieving that mark during his NFL career.
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