'OUT on OBJ!' Cowboys WR Search Lands Brandin Cooks, Ends Odell Beckham Chase?

Rumors swirled about Odell Beckham Jr. and Dallas, but the Cowboys have moved on with a Brandin Cooks trade they think is a better idea.

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys are wise to exist in a "never say never'' world, and so are we.

But after having finally nailed down the acquisition for that "offensive play-maker with juice'' via the Sunday morning trade for Houston Texans receiver Brandin Cooks, is there any reason for Dallas to also continue chasing free agent receiver Odell Beckham Jr.?

According to a source here inside The Star, there is not. The Cowboys, in short, are telling us they are "Out on OBJ.''

The price for Beckham Jr. might not be the rumored $20 million APY, as OBJ used the weekend to debunk that. But we know the cost for Cooks, a pair of late-round draft picks and $12 million for 2023 and, if Dallas chooses, $13 million for 2024.

That represents what a Cowboys source told us on Sunday morning is "a steal,'' and Cooks, 29, brings to Dallas none of the much-discussed baggage that OBJ travels with.

Going into this process, we suggested (rather harshly!) that Dallas seemed paralyzed by indecision with these two names, and others, like DeAndre Hopkins and Jerry Jeudy floating about. In doing so, we forgot our own rule of thumb on these matters ...

"Let the cake bake.''

And now one week into the NFL year and through the doors here at The Star come walking the tagged Tony Pollard, plus Leighton Vander Esch, Donovan Wilson, Cooper Rush, CJ Goodwin and both Stephon Gilmore and Cooks via big-name trades.

Dallas seemed intent on getting the best "bang for the buck" in negotiations, and the Joneses received criticism for that. But isn't "bang for the buck'' wise? Isn't trying to "win the trade'' smart? 

The Cowboys, even with the Ezekiel Elliott goodbye, can now proclaim the roster to be better than it was a week ago, and hopefully, eventually, better than it was a year ago. And they somehow did that without the OBJ Circus ever coming back to town.

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