Cleveland Browns star wide receiver Amari Cooper will not play Thursday night against the New York Jets, the team announced an hour before kickoff.
The 29-year-old is dealing with a heel injury and was questionable heading into the game.
Cooper was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week following his 11-catch, two-touchdown, 265-yard performance against the Houston Texans on Christmas Eve. He has 1,250 yards and five touchdowns on the season, his sixth season with 1,000-plus yards since entering the league.
The Browns are 10-5 entering Thursday’s contest, riding a three-game winning streak.
Cooper has 22 catches for 451 yards and three touchdowns in the winning streak.
Who steps up?
This is a significant loss, but the Browns have been adaptable and have multiple options. — Zac Jackson, Browns beat writer
What do I do about my fantasy lineup?
Cooper being out obviously stinks for fantasy players, but he probably got a lot of teams into the finals after last week’s game and he was facing a somewhat daunting task of going against the Jets D while on a bad heel. The decision on “Cooper versus Player B” has been made for us, so there’s the silver lining.
I wouldn’t turn to any other Browns WRs in the meantime — starting Elijah Moore against the Jets in your fantasy final carries way too much risk, and if you’ve gotten this far, you have safer options already on your bench. — Nando Di Fino, Fantasy/Betting managing editor
Sit Flacco
If you were deciding between Joe Flacco and another QB, the smart move would now be to bench the red hot Flacco, who will still have good wideouts to work with — and is playing a minor revenge game against the Jets — but goes into a short week without his top pass-catcher. — Di Fino
Required reading
(Photo: Cooper Neill / Getty Images)