Mystery surrounding Amari Cooper’s injury

More interesting than important at this point with the Cleveland Browns all but out of playoff contention with four games remaining in the NFL season, WR Amari Cooper’s injury has some mystery to it.

Last week, Cooper had his normal rest day off on Wednesday but returned to practice on Thursday. During that practice, Cooper reportedly hurt his hip but told reporters he expected to play in Week 14. The veteran receiver sat out practice again on Friday and was a game-time decision.

After a pregame workout on the field, Cooper was deemed healthy enough to play against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Sadly, he didn’t look like the star he’s been all season. His movements were more labored and he wasn’t able to get in and out of his breaks well. That made sense given the hip injury that was reported except he said it wasn’t a hip injury:

“Hip is good. It’s more of a core muscle injury that I’m fighting through, but it’s going to get better,” Cooper said.

Perhaps it is just different verbiage between the medical staff and what Cooper is experiencing but the injury got reaggravated very early in the game:

He aggravated the injury on his first catch on the first offensive snap.

“But then as the game went on, we started doing hurry up, I started feeling better,” he said. “I guess it was adrenaline or something like that. So we just stayed in there.”

We will get more information on Cooper’s status for Week 15 on Wednesday but it is likely he takes his normal veteran rest day. If he isn’t able to practice Thursday or Friday, it is likely the team will be cautious with him against the Baltimore Ravens. Fantasy football fans starting their playoffs will want to take note.