Sports

Bills standout hauls in touchdown as first catch after trade

Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

Amari Cooper didn’t take long to make his mark on the Buffalo Bills.

Five days after being traded to the Bills, the five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver caught a 12-yard touchdown pass in Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans to mark his first reception with the team.

Cooper made the catch early in the third quarter to put the Bills ahead 14-10 for their first lead of the day. He finished with four catches for 66 yards in the Bills’ eventual 34-10 win.

The Bills gave up a third-round pick in the package to acquire Cooper, whom the team hoped would elevate a passing attack that had struggled to find its footing after top target Stefon Diggs was traded to the Houston Texans this offseason.

With the quick turnaround after the deal, Cooper and Bills coach Sean McDermott were initially unsure if the wide receiver would play in Week 7 against a Titans defense that ranks first in the NFL in passing yards allowed.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

‘I would still have to kind of go through the week, get a routine, still learning the playbook and everything. I just got here, you know what I mean?’ Cooper said last week. ‘So I don’t really have an expectation right now that I can chalk up to being realistic until I go through the week.’

This story has been updated to include new information.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY