Earlier: Amari Cooper is questionable for Thursday night’s game against the New York Jets, but the Cleveland Browns wide receiver appears trending toward playing.
Per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Cooper “should be able to go” barring any setbacks during pre-game warmups. That’s despite him missing practice all week with a heel injury.
WR updates on @NFLGameDay Kickoff from Cleveland just now:#Browns WR Amari Cooper (heel) should be able to go, provided everything goes well in warmups.#Jets WR Allen Lazard (illness) won’t play tonight. Randall Cobb will be up.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) December 28, 2023
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A Cooper absence would have been terrible timing coming off a ground-breaking performance. He registered 265 yards and two touchdowns in a Week 16 win over the Houston Texans.
With that outburst, Cooper set a new single-season career high with 1,250 receiving yards. The 29-year-old ranks sixth in receiving with the fourth-highest yards per reception (17.4).
Cooper has gone into a higher gear alongside Joe Flacco, who has connected with his star wideout on 22 of 37 targets for 451 yards and three touchdowns in three straight wins.
“He’s special,” Flacco said of Cooper, per team reporter Kelsey Russo. “I mean, we were able to get him open downfield a little bit, but he was also able to go up for some balls and just be strong through the catch. He’s a special player.”
That stretch has Cleveland on the cusp of clinching a playoff berth. The Browns can lock down their third postseason trip of the 21st century with a win over the Jets.
Prime Video will stream the Thursday Night Football matchup between Cleveland and New York starting at 8:15 p.m. ET.
Update: Turns out, Cooper isn’t going to play tonight after all.
#Browns WR Amari Cooper, dealing with a heel injury and listed as questionable, is inactive tonight. There was optimism that he would go, but he didn’t feel right in warmups.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 28, 2023
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Kickoff is in roughly 80 minutes.