Getty Cowboys WR Amari Cooper
The Dallas Cowboys seemingly will not use the small window they cracked open to move on from Amari Cooper.
With Cooper’s $20 million base salary for 2022 becoming fully guaranteed in March, Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson reported the Cowboys are expected to retain the four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver.
“According to league sources not authorized to speak publicly, the Cowboys haven’t made a decision on what they’re going to do, but most expect them to retain Cooper,” Wilson wrote on January 26. “The plan is to continue to evaluate his performance along with the other players on the roster and then make decisions.
“While one source predicted the Cowboys ultimately move on from Cooper and lean even more heavily on CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup when he returns from a knee injury, a torn ACL, another expressed confidence that Cooper isn’t going anywhere.”
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Digging Into Amari’s Megadeal
Cooper inked a whopping five-year $100 million contract with Dallas in March 2020. The first two years of the pact were fully guaranteed — $30 million all told, per OverTheCap.com — but no guaranteed cash remains for 2023 and 2024. He will receive his aforementioned $20 million only if kept on the roster by the fifth day of the new league year.
Should they trade or release Cooper prior to June 1, the Cowboys would save $16 million against the salary cap and swallow $6 million in dead money. Designating him a post-June 1 departure would free up $20 million, leaving behind just $2 million in dead cap.
“The Cowboys are probably better off holding onto Cooper and finding a way to get the most out of their hefty investment,” Wilson opined.
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Jones Vents Frustration with Cooper
Perhaps because his club is $21 million over the cap heading into the offseason, Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones took aim at Cooper and his financial albatross of a commitment during a recent radio interview.
“I don’t have any comment on Cooper’s contract,” Jones said January 21 on 105.3 The Fan, via Pro Football Network. “I thought that we were playing early when we did make something happen, I thought Cooper had a big part in that. And I’m not being trite, but how he fits in and should take half the field with him when he goes and runs the field. Not half, that’s an exaggeration, of course. But a whole bunch of that defense should have to honor Cooper.
“Not half, half is an exaggeration, of course, but a whole bunch of that defense should have to honor Cooper. And he ought to be able to catch it in the middle of when they’re going with him. Others do. You throw to people that are covered all the time in the NFL. You have to. Most people don’t have the numbers of receivers we’ve had.”
Struggling through a COVID-marred campaign, Cooper recorded his fewest catches (68) and receiving yards (865) since 2017, taking a backseat to WR CeeDee Lamb (1,102 yards) and tight end Dalton Schultz (78 receptions) in the NFL’s top-ranked offense.