When attached to his rookie contract, Amari Cooper commanded a first-round pick in a trade. The Cowboys, which sent the Raiders their 2019 first ahead of the 2018 deadline, are not seeing nearly as much interest now that Cooper is tethered to a high-end receiver deal.
Cooper has not drawn much interest as a trade chip. Even with teams aware of the pricey wideout’s availability for weeks now, Yahoo.com’s Charles Robinson notes teams are not lining up to acquire his current contract (Twitter links). Cooper’s deal runs through 2024 and carries a $22M cap number for this season. One receiver-needy team informed Robinson it has no interest in Cooper at this price. If no reasonable trade offer emerges, the Cowboys seemingly intend to cut Cooper.
In recent years, the draft has begun to provide teams with quality value at receiver, with the past few classes flush with pass-catching help. With those rookies tied to low-cost deals for at least three seasons, value for players like Cooper — who signed a five-year, $100M deal in 2020 — diminishes.
The Cowboys moving Cooper off their roster before March 20 saves them $16M, funds that could be allocated to some of the team’s impending free agents. Cooper’s $20M base salary becomes fully guaranteed on that fifth day of the 2022 league year. The team is interested in retaining Dalton Schultz, and Robinson adds it weighed Cooper’s cost with the ability to keep Michael Gallup, Cedrick Wilson and potentially Randy Gregory (Twitter links). Wilson, Gallup’s injury replacement in 2021, joins Gallup and Gregory in being on track for free agency. To go through with this plan, the Cowboys ($13.4M over the cap) will need to make more moves to free up space.
Gallup potentially being available at a slight discount due to his ACL tear has also factored in to the team’s plans, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram notes. Retaining Gallup would be a cheaper option than keeping Cooper, though losing the latter would stand to put more pressure on CeeDee Lamb, who has benefited from defenses’ attention to Cooper. The Cooper-or-Gallup long-term choice has been on the team’s radar for a while now, and it appears a decision has been made.
Despite having played seven seasons, Cooper is just 27. He would certainly draw extensive interest on the open market. The prospect of the Packers franchise-tagging Davante Adams and the Buccaneers using a second tag on Chris Godwin would enhance Cooper’s value if the Cowboys indeed release him. Cooper is a four-time Pro Bowler who has posted five 1,000-yard seasons.
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