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The Dallas Cowboys have entered the postseason after arguably the most disappointing year since the mid 1990's. 2021 was supposed to be different and early on, it looked like it would. They had an elite offense. They had a ball-hawking defense with a pass rush. Yet, the Cowboys season still ended in similar fashion, one and done in the playoffs.
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The growing frustration appears to have leaked into the front office. On Friday, news surfaced that the Dallas Cowboys were going to try and trade former Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper. However, if they do not find a trade partner in the next two weeks, they will release him.
Amari Cooper and the Dallas Cowboys are "likely" to part ways.
$20 million dollars is still due to Cooper start of the new league year, March 20.
per @AdamSchefter pic.twitter.com/pS0CacL2Xf
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 4, 2022
Cooper is entering his third year in a five-year $100 million contract. If Dallas cuts him before the fifth day of the new league year (March 20th), they will not have to pay him and his cap hit will only be $6 million in 2022.
There has been some talk that Cooper did not live up to his contract this past season. After all, he failed to reach 1,000 yards and only caught 68 passes. But I will make the obvious argument that the only reason his numbers were down on a relative scale is because CeeDee Lamb is an ever greater receiver. That doesn't mean Cooper is still not elite. I watched him play all season. He looked every bit as good this season as he has in past years.
But there is one clear reason why this is all happening, and Damien Woody hit the nail on the head.
I know the Cowboys will move on from Amari Cooper but that Zeke contract is really what’s killing them
— Damien Woody (@damienwoody) March 4, 2022
Dallas is over the cap and facing a ton of difficult free agent decisions because of Ezekiel Elliott's contract. In 2019, the Cowboys re-signed Elliott to a six-year, $90 million contract with $50 million guaranteed. They structured the deal so that he was not a very big cap hit the first couple seasons.
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In 2022 though, the cap hit from his contract jumps to $18.2 million. That's a ton of money for a running back. That's especially true if that running back might not even be the best one on the team.
Everyone saw how well Tony Pollard played this season. Everyone also saw Elliott looking like he lost a step. It's not his fault. He has been run into the ground since his rookie season. He's been a Pro Bowl running back for years, but it's clear his best days are behind him.
But because the Cowboys cannot get out from under his cap hit, other players (Cooper) are the casualties.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport argued on television that if a wideout is not going to be your #1 receiver, you can't pay him $20 million. I would counter that saying you can, if that #1 wide receiver is still on his rookie contract. Cooper is still a WR1 who just happens to have an ever better WR1 opposite him.
Jerry Jones is looking at this financially. But in doing so, he is banking on the health of Michael Gallup. That sounds really risky to me, especially if your goal is to win a Super Bowl.
