Cooper isn’t present Tuesday for the start of mandatory minicamp, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Cooper is in the final year of his contract and presumably wants an extension. The Browns can fine him while he’s absent, and it’s possible this stretches into training camp if the wideout doesn’t have a new contract by late July. Cooper had career highs for receiving yards (1,250) and yards per catch (17.4) last season, buoyed by a 25-485-3 receiving line in the four games he played with Joe Flacco as Cleveland’s starting QB. Cooper also did well with Deshaun Watson, reaching 90 yards in four of the six full games Watson played, whereas Cleveland’s other main pass catchers — namely TE David Njoku and WR Elijah Moore — struggled to get anything going with the supposed franchise QB. The Browns added Jerry Jeudy this offseason, likely pushing Moore back to the No. 3 role and giving Cooper more competition for targets.
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