The Buffalo Bills secured a spot in the already busy NFL news cycle on Tuesday, inking a deal for five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper. The trade, which sends the former Cleveland Browns wideout across Lake Erie, gives a much-needed alpha-wide edge to a Buffalo receiving corps that had tried in vain to replace the production vacated by Stefon Diggs in its entirety; the seven-time 1,000-yard wide receiver has already caught 24 passes for 250 yards this season, making him the team’s new leader in both metrics despite playing with a significantly inferior quarterback in Cleveland.

Head coach Sean McDermott spoke about Cooper during his media presence on Tuesday, expressing excitement about his impending arrival while reaffirming confidence in the team’s pre-existing options.

“First and foremost, believe in the receivers we already have in the room,” McDermott said. “We’ll see when Amari comes here, how we can get him up to speed and integrate him into what we do and how we do things. It’s never about one man; we are grateful to have him, but it is never about just one man. It’s about the team. We would like to get him on board here and get started.”

Related: Why Amari Cooper was a better Bills signing than Davante Adams

Cooper now leads a receiving corps that also includes third-year pass catcher Khalil Shakir and rookie Keon Coleman, both of whom have shown flashes through the first six games of the season. Both young wideouts benefit from Cooper’s presence, as they can not only pick his brains out of the field, but also benefit from the 30-year-old drawing defenders onto them.

McDermott went on to talk about the impact on the field the former fourth-choice will make.

“Those qualities are important. . . the ability to get separation just adds to our flavor on offense,” McDermott said. “We’ve done some good things, and I think that will be an added bonus for us as we move forward here.”

While McDermott was once again excited about what Cooper will bring to One Bills Drive, he warned of the dangers of viewing each acquisition as a singular beacon of hope. He is confident Cooper will be a valuable addition to the field, just as he was during his three previous professional stops; That said, according to McDermott, his individual impact on the field is less important compared to how he interacts with and benefits from the larger team.

“Anytime you feel like you’re improving as a football team, I would say yes (there is excitement), but again, on paper is one thing,” McDermott said. “Can the person playing ultimately help us? That’s really what we’re going to see in the coming days. I hope the answer to all of this is yes. We’re going to take on Amari and have a lot of respect for him and his play, but again, we have players in the building that we already have confidence in and he’ll fit into that equation, and we’ll get him integrated.

“I’m happy to see how quickly he can get up to speed here. One player doesn’t save a team, one player doesn’t make a team. It’s about the team. To be honest, sometimes you bring in a player and he can sometimes get in the way. I’m not saying that in this case, but you do get into a rhythm. When you trade for a player, especially mid-season, you get him up to speed and then get him into the rhythm the team was already in. I’m looking forward to doing that and getting him on board here.”

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