cowboys trade -On Saturday, the Cowboys reportedly agreed to a trade with the Browns that will send four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper to Cleveland for a fifth-round pick and a sixth-round pick trade when receiving the 2022 NFL Draft.
Dallas’s return for Cooper is no indication of his worth; instead, it was a move necessitated by poor cap space management. As a result, he left his salary in the hands of a team willing to pay him $20 million a year.
The Cowboys and their cronies can justify the move by saying that Cooper never got the team past the playoff hurdle, nor did it emerge as a crucial turning point to explain the first-team pick. Round that Dallas sent to the Raiders in trade for him. 2018. You can point out that this move frees up room to re-sign other cheaper receiver options. Finally, I might point out that the team risked getting nothing for Cooper by cutting him.
All of this is true. Still, Dallas fans and objective observers want an answer as to why Cooper offered such a low price and why the Cowboys decided to drop him in the first place. So with that, The Sporting News breaks down that decision:
Table of Contents
Why did the cowboy trade, Amari Cooper?
The Ezekiel Elliott Contract
The Elliott deal was a big boost for the Cowboys’ trade against Cooper. However, some have wondered why Dallas chose to keep the traditional running back in a more passing-focused league. The reason is that Elliott, who signed a six-year, $90 million contract extension ahead of the 2019 season, would cause the team more problems if fired than if the Cowboys kept him.
If the Cowboys release Elliott, the team will face a $30 million salary cap and an additional $11.9 million if they release him before May 1.
As it stands, Elliott is projecting $18.2 million over the Cowboys’ salary cap in 2022.
Wage dumping gives way to ceilings-cowboys trade
By contrast, removing Cooper from the Cowboys’ books only results in a $6 million salary cap, while keeping him would have caused a $22 million salary cap. Cooper’s move to the Browns saves the team $16 million in cap space.
Why is this important?
It helps the team re-sign other, cheaper offensive options that haven’t lagged Cooper in terms of production in 2021. The move now allows wide receivers Cedrick Wilson Jr. and Michael to be re-signed. Gallup, as well as the wide receiver. Closed Dalton Schultz, who won the franchise tag.
It’s essential to keep Schultz as he hit career highs in 2021 for goals (104), receptions (78), yards (808), and touchdowns (eight) on the field through 2023.
Damage Control by Cee Dee Lamb, Gallup, Schultz
If the Cowboys use the Cooper trade to re-sign Gallup, Schultz, and Wilson, they will retain all but one of their offensive arms from the 2021 season. This group (excluding Cooper) had 305 receptions, 2,957 receiving yards, and 22 receptions. Last year.
Cooper was third on the team in receptions, second in yards, and tied for first in touchdown receptions in 2021. If the Cowboys were working to keep him, he should have been the clear No. 1 receiver. Instead, lamb is an enormous young talent who still has a rookie contract, while Schultz, Gallup, and Wilson are cheaper alternatives to Cooper.
Cooper was undoubtedly a big part of the Dallas offense, but the unit won’t take too many hits without him on paper.
The Cowboys never made it further into the playoffs
Granted, Cooper gave the Cowboys a much-deserved offensive boost when they acquired him in a trade-in in 2018. they were a two-time Pro Bowler in Dallas and had 292 receptions for 3,893 yards. And 27 landings. He was also a three-time 1,000-yard taker as a cowboy.
But part of the reason the Cowboys signed him was to help them reach their first Super Bowl since the 1995 season. They only made the playoffs twice under Cooper, in 2018 and 21. In three career postseason competitions with the Cowboys, Cooper amassed 19 receptions. For 235 yards (12.4 receiving yards) and two touchdowns.
Cooper didn’t help his case in 2021 by losing two games after contracting COVID-19. For the season, he formed 68 receptions (third-lowest of his career) for 865 yards (second-lowest) and eight touchdowns.