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The Dallas Cowboys essentially confirmed the weeks of reports that the team is considering moving on from star wideout Amari Cooper. As the NFL Combine week kicked off in Indianapolis, Cowboys Vice President Stephen Jones met with reporters but noted it was “too early” to discuss whether Cooper will be wearing a Dallas uniform in 2022.
“Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones on whether Amari Cooper to be on roster in 2022: ‘It’s too early for me to address that,'” Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehlken tweeted on February 28. “Conversations ongoing, he added. Pay cut on table? ‘I don’t want to address any of that as far as the details of any contract.’”
It is an eye-opening statement in that Cooper is under contract with the Cowboys through the 2024 season. Jones’ statement indicates the Cowboys are considering releasing Cooper this offseason as the franchise has an out in the receiver’s deal which would allow the team to create $14 million in additional cap room. Cooper is slated to make $20 million annually for the next three seasons, per Spotrac.
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Jones Spoke Differently About the Futures of Cooper & Elliott
Jones was willing to discuss the future of other players as the executive spoke glowingly about Ezekiel Elliott. USA Today’s Jori Epstein noted that Jones’ “tone differed dramatically” when discussing the futures of both players.
“Hello from Indy, where we just spoke with Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones. His tone differed dramatically when discussing 2022 prospects for WR Amari Cooper, RB Ezekiel Elliott,” Epstein said on Twitter on February 28.
Jones’ recent comments come after Dallas 105.3 The Fan’s Bobby Belt reported that “things are heading” towards Cooper and DeMarcus Lawrence both being cap casualties this offseason.
“Feels like this is where things are heading,” Belt tweeted on February 4. “Stephen [Jones] sounded like he was laying the foundation for it this week, and a number of people connected to the decisions are anticipating it to come to fruition. Both players are still stars and wouldn’t be unemployed for very long.”
Dallas Faces Difficult Decisions About Multiple Key Receivers
It is not just Cooper who the Cowboys will have to make a decision about in the coming weeks. Fellow starting receiver Michael Gallup is a free agent but is also coming off a season-ending ACL injury. Cedrick Wilson is another receiver set to hit free agency. During an exclusive February 9 interview with Heavy, Gallup admitted that he is hoping he can “get what I deserve” in free agency.
“I hope I did enough here in Dallas over the last four years to get what I deserve,” Gallup noted. “I know this past year wasn’t the best for me or anything, but I hope I’ve done enough and put enough on film to where the injury that I just had isn’t going to weigh me down too much. So, that’s what I’m hoping to get out of free agency.”
The Cowboys Continue to Make Cryptic Comments About Cooper
As Heavy has discussed at length, the Cowboys could also explore trading Cooper rather than releasing the receiver with nothing to show for the star wideout, aside from cap space. We explored a potential deal with the Falcons for promising young receiver Calvin Ridley, but it remains to be seen how likely a team is to trade for Cooper given his sizable deal. This is not the first time that Jones has hinted that Cooper’s time with the Cowboys may be coming to a close.
“Well, it’s sometimes not all on the receiver, too,” Jones explained to reporters at the Senior Bowl on February 2. “It’s scheme, it’s getting the receiver the ball, the touches, the targets that he needs. But if you’re gonna pay somebody a lot of money, you want them to be the best at what they do.
“Whether that’s catching, whether that’s yards, whether that’s receptions, whether that’s touchdowns. Whether that’s throwing touchdown passes, winning football games, if you’re a quarterback. Whether it’s a running back, if you’re getting your touches and you’re scoring touchdowns and you’re running for yards, I mean all those things.
“If you’re a pass rusher, you want to be getting pressure and making plays, all those things relate to how a guy’s paid. And once you pay that player a lot of money, then with that comes high expectations. And they know that, these players know that, they compete at the highest levels.”
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