Amari Cooper will be listed as questionable for Bills heading into Week 9 vs. Dolphins
One of the bigger moves prior to the trade deadline so far has been the Buffalo Bills acquiring wide receiver Amari Cooper. In Cooper’s debut with the Bills two weeks ago, he had four receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown. However, last week, he only had a single reception for three yards. Cooper’s snap count nearly doubled last week and the Bills will hope to continue getting their new offensive weapon more involved in the offense.
According to The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia, Cooper will be listed as questionable heading into the weekend. Cooper was limited in practice all week with a wrist injury, making his status for Sunday uncertain.
On Wednesday, it was thought the Cooper would not practice. However, he was upgraded to a limited participant which was his status for the rest of the week. Bills Head coach Sean McDermott said that the Bills are “taking it one day at a time” with Cooper. The wide receiver suffered his wrist injury during last week’s win against the Seahawks.
Cooper’s status for Sunday will be one to monitor prior to the Bills playing the Dolphins. We should know early in the day whether or not Cooper will play as that game will be played in the early slate at 1 p.m. ET.
It’s hard to recommend starting Amari Cooper until he gets more integrated into the Bills offense. His snap count did double last week, going up to 38 from 19 in his debut. Still, Cooper may be a player that has more of an impact in late-November or December than right now. He was the WR14 in his debut after scoring a touchdown, but between the injury and still getting worked into the offense, Cooper isn’t a reliable fantasy option just yet. His role should increase as the season progresses, but he’s not quite there yet.
Still, the top wide receiver options in the Bills offense remain Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman. Shakir is the WR23 this season and has built a connection with quarterback Josh Allen. Over the past two weeks with Cooper in the offense, Shakir is the WR10 and has 16 reception for 162 yards. As Cooper plays, he should continue to open things up for other receivers in the offense such as Shakir and Coleman.
Unfortunately for fantasy managers of Cooper, he isn’t a reliable option just yet and the injury only complicated things. The Dolphins pass defense does provide a difficult matchup as well. This season, the Dolphins have allowed the third-fewest fantasy points per game to wide receivers. Running back James Cook could end up being the featured player in the offense this week. Cook had 11 carries for 78 yards and two touchdowns back in Week 2 against the Dolphins who have allowed the sixth-most rushing touchdowns this season.
