Amari Cooper Defended by Peers After Rex Ryan Calls Him a ‘Turd’

Former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan turned heads recently when he appeared on ESPN to discuss Amari Cooper‘s contract with the Dallas Cowboys. He referred to the former first-round pick as a “turd” and said that he wouldn’t have handed Cooper a five-year, $100 million contract due to him always “disappearing” when it counts. These were bold words from the former NFL coach, but Cooper’s peers are coming to his defense.

Following Ryan referring to the wide receiver as a “turd,” cornerbacks Darius Slay and Stephon Gilmore weighed in on the matter. Slay recently signed a three-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles after seven seasons with the Detroit Lions. He will be facing off with Cooper twice a year for the foreseeable future. He retweeted a video montage of the receiver’s best routes and wrote: “Rex Ryan, you sleep!!!”

“To me, this is the biggest disappearing act in the National Football League,” Ryan said on Friday. “He doesn’t show up on the road, he doesn’t show up against … when the competition is good, when he’s up against the top corners, that guy just disappears.

“It’s only one time that I can remember, in recent memory, on elite receivers and disappearing acts like Amari Cooper. That was the kid that the Raiders had a few years ago. Oh, that’s right. That was Amari Cooper,” Ryan continued. “This is who he is. He doesn’t love football. He stops his routes. He does all this.”

Gilmore, who was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year following the 2019 season, also provided his opinion about Cooper. He headed to social media and called for Ryan to reassess.

“Come on Rex he one of the toughest receivers in the league to cover. His release game is probably top 2,” Gilmore posted on Twitter.

Cooper and Ryan haven’t crossed paths often in recent years. Ryan’s tenure with the New York Jets (2009-14) ended prior to the Oakland Raiders selecting Cooper seventh overall. Ryan spent two seasons as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills (2015-16), but his team only faced off with Cooper once. The former Raiders receiver registered two catches for 59 yards and one touchdown during a 38-24 win.

Cooper turned in a career season for the Dallas Cowboys in 2019. He posted a career-high 79 catches, 1,189 yards, and eight touchdowns. He was also named to the Pro Bowl for the fourth time in his career. Cooper has posted four 1,000-yard seasons in his five-year career, two with the Raiders, one with the Cowboys, and one split between the two teams.

Ryan has since backtracked on his comments, albeit only slightly. He apologized for referring to Cooper as a “turd,” but he still said that the Cowboys overpaid for his services.

“I can’t believe I used that word,” Ryan said on SportsCenter. “Obviously it was a poor choice by me to say what I said about Amari, and anybody that knows me — quite honestly I think the world of every player. I have a great deal of respect for every single player in the National Football League, including Amari Cooper.

“Now with that being said, I think the Cowboys overspent for Amari Cooper,” Ryan continued. “The reason for it is — I don’t doubt this is an elite player. He has those traits, but an elite receiver to me shows up on the road. He shows up against great corners. And he shows up in crunch time.

“Those are three things Amari Cooper has not done so far in his career. I think he’s won one playoff game as a player. All those things are how I feel about this young man as a receiver, but what I added at the end of that — I want to apologize to Amari and I hope he accepts my apology.”

(Photo Credit: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)