Amari Cooper's Days with Dallas Cowboys Appear to be Over
According to numerous media outlets, the Dallas Cowboys are trying to trade wide receiver Amari Cooper, and if unsuccessful will release him in a salary-cap move.
If Cooper is still on the roster on March 20, the Cowboys will have to pay him $20 million per his contract.
The Cowboys would need to release Cooper by March 20, which is the fifth day of the new league year. If not, they owe Cooper $20 million.
ESPN reported Thursday morning that Dallas would “likely” release the 27-year-old wideout by March 16, the start of the new league year.
“I believe he’s done with the Cowboys," NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport also said during a Friday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
According to the FanNation Cowboys site, the Cowboys have three additional wide receivers set to become free agents in Michael Gallup, Cedrick Wilson and Malik Turner. A potential departure of Cooper could in theory allow Dallas to retain Gallup and Wilson for the 2022 season at the price of one.
Cooper is still under contract for three more years. He'll carry a salary-cap hit of $22 million if he remains on Dallas' roster in 2022, versus a dead-cap number of $6 million if traded or released.
"It’s too early for me to address that yet," Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Monday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. "We’re continuing to have conversations. We've been so fortunate to have those three great receivers on our roster. And obviously, that’s hard to keep doing under a salary cap."
Cooper signed a five-year contract extension with the Cowboys worth $100 million in March of 2020. He was coming off a career season of 1,189 receiving yards on 79 catches, to go along with eight touchdowns during his first full campaign in Dallas.
The Cowboys acquired the four-time Pro-Bowler in October of 2018 in a trade with the then-Oakland Raiders for a first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
This past season he failed to reach 1,000 receiving yards for the first time with the Cowboys. He ended the year with 68 catches for 865 yards, his lowest production since 2017.
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One reason for Cooper's slight drop was the emergence of CeeDee Lamb, who had a team-best 1,102 yards on 79 catches and six touchdowns.
"I think it’s an offensive philosophy," Jones said. "When we had the skill players that we had between Kellen [Moore] and Dak, there was a progression of where you threw the ball. I think it’s more of a system deal. It wasn’t a thing where we said, 'Hey, we’re not going to target Amari as much.'"
One thing is certain, regardless of what the Cowboys do with Cooper, the second-guessing in Dallas has only just begun.
