Former Cowboys wide receiver almost traded to major NFC rival

The Dallas Cowboys nearly had to watch one of their former stars suit up for a major NFC rival.

Randy Gurzi | Aug 10, 2024

Dallas Cowboys / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

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Brandon Aiyuk has been making headlines throughout the offseason as he and the San Francisco 49ers hit a stalemate in contract talks. Their dispute turned to a trade request and he was nearly sent to the Cleveland Browns before nixing the deal.

Aiyuk wasn't willing to sign an extension with Cleveland, which killed the proposal, but had it gone through, the Dallas Cowboys would have seen a familiar face join one of their main NFC rivals.

Cleveland offered a second and fifth-round pick, as well as Amari Cooper to the 49ers in exchange for Aiyuk.

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Cooper's reaction to learning of the near-trade was similar to the reaction CeeDee Lamb had when Jerry Jones expressed a lack of urgency to get his deal done. Lamb retweeted the story with the caption "lol." Cooper simply took to Instagram and started with his own "lol," before saying he wouldn't mind going to San Francisco.

Dallas surely wouldn't have been too thrilled with the deal. The 49ers already pose enough of a problem with their roster constructed as is. Adding someone they traded away for a mere fifth-round pick would have given them an extra motivated offensive weapon to try and slow down.

Having said that, they'll still have to see Cooper in Week 1 when they play Cleveland. But that's better than dealing with him in the postseason.