WR Amari Cooper (7.22.23)
You’ve done this before. What do you think this team can get out of these eight days down here?
“Just grind. Just an opportunity to get away and focus on football. It’s training camp, like the old days. We’re looking forward to it. Looking forward to having a lot of fun.”
Is it a lot different when you go away than when you’re at the facility?
“Not so much. It’s all about perspective. If you’re able to really lock in and focus when you’re at home, then you really get the same out of it.”
How hard was it for you to watch what Marquise Goodwin is going through?
“Once I found out and I knew what he was going through, just pray for him. I believe that we pray to get through anything. Praying for him. I’m hoping for the best.”
Did he tell you about any struggles that he was having, like during OTAs and stuff? He had mentioned being short of breath?
“I was overhearing him say some stuff, but I thought it was just injury related. We all go through the knicks and bruises. Kind of feels tight here and there, but I definitely can remember overhearing him say some stuff before practice, things like that. It’s crazy.”
Is it inspirational at all, watching him out here, knowing he doesn’t know when he’ll be back?
“Yeah, it’s very inspirational. I mean, that’s the thing about most football players. We’re so used to adversity, we’re so used to ebbs and flows, ups and downs, that it creates this toughness about us where we can deal with anything. Where we can not know we’re dealing with something that’s really extreme. We feel like we could just overcome it. We feel like it might just be a little tweak or something like that. So, yeah, it’s definitely inspirational. Like I said, I’m hoping for the best.”
Team chemistry is such an intangible thing. How can you tell that you’re seeing it really develop?
“I always felt like when it came to chemistry, it just has to be organic. Guys genuinely bonding with each other, guys genuinely getting along. I think it starts with the leaders. If the guys can really rally around the leaders and really feel the genuine leadership of the leaders, that’s what creates the chemistry.”
What would make this stay successful for you?
“Just coming in, getting the work, focusing on the details, staying locked in and not worrying about any outside distractions. Primarily, just the work. Doesn’t really matter where I am at as long as I focus on the work and get the job done day in and day out.”
How different does it feel starting year two with the Browns?
“A lot more comfortable, a lot less stressful. When you’re playing for a new team, you feel like you’re trying to prove yourself as a player, which honestly, you’re always trying to do. But it’s a lot more comfortable because I know the playbook. I know most of my teammates, being that it’s my second year here as opposed to coming in year one and not really knowing anybody personally. So comfortability, for sure.”
Is the core muscle going to limit you at all during camp?
“No.”
How different is your summer ramp-up for camp at this point in your career?
“Not really any different. Just grind as hard as you can. Being optimistic about what the season can be. Just working on everything—mentally, physically, emotionally in all aspects of the game to try and be the best.”
How does it feel to start together here with the team at training camp?
“It feels good. It is like you do all the work leading up to this point so that the chemistry can already be on point after the first day of training camp. So we just got to sit back and wait and see how things go.”
How good does it feel to feel like yourself again and feel really good and know that you don’t have the core muscle thing to worry about this year? It’s basically behind you now.
“I mean, it always feels good to recover from an injury and to be coming in ready to go full go, always feels good.”
Do you feel like you missed out a little bit on building that connection with Deshaun (Watson) last year?
“I mean, at the end of the day, you can only control what you can control. Not really trying to look back, unless I’m learning from a mistake or something like that. Just really looking forward to what we can build going forward.”
It looks like you, Deshaun and Elijah (Moore), you guys and David (Njoku) down there. It looks like you guys were really building the chemistry. How did that all go?
“Yeah, it was cool. It was cool working out at the University of Miami. A lot of guys went there for college. Just an extra opportunity for us to build some chemistry—obviously get to know each other some more and just to have fun around each other.”
And it’s kind of home for you, too, right?
“It is really 10 minutes away from where I grew up.”
You guys were able to do some things socially?
“Yeah, for sure. Me and Deshaun went out to eat a couple of times actually, just to interact with each other, build our friendship, and things like that.”
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