Amari Cooper was supposed to be a Dallas Cowboys for more than he was in reality. After the front office gave up a first-round draft pick for him and later signed him to a $100 million deal in 2020, the pairing was shaping up to be a great one.
But then, the Cowboys stumbled upon CeeDee Lamb in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft and with Michael Gallup on the roster, the Joneses-led front office made one of the worst decisions it could’ve in 2022: They extended Gallup on a five-year deal and days later traded Cooper away for a fifth-rounder.
From there, you know the story. Gallup’s play quickly declined as injuries piled up and Cooper put together decent seasons in a bad situation at Cleveland.
Cooper and the Cowboys should reunite in 2025
This year’s free agency could provide an opportunity for the Cowboys and Cooper to reunite and it makes almost too much sense. It would take both parties leaving behind a rocky past but that’s easy to do if the numbers are right.
Cooper is set to hit free agency in March. In 2024, he turned in underwhelming results with the Buffalo Bills after being traded midseason last year. Though he had his moments in Buffalo, he never became one of Josh Allen’s top targets.
The Cowboys have a long list of needs to address and there’s no question one of the top ones is a No. 2 wide receiver. Brandin Cooks is unlikely to be brought back now that he’ll become a free agent and Jalen Tolbert has done little to prove he’s a legit WR2.
Meanwhile, Cooper is a refined route runner that we know has chemistry with Dak Prescott. Additionally, he’s no longer a receiver the Cowboys have to pay at the top of the market. He will be 31 years old when the season starts and after a down year in which drops were an issue, he fits the exact mold Dallas usually is interested in. It’s a low-risk, high-reward gamble to make.
Pro Football Focus projects Cooper’s future deal to be worth $17.5 million per year but I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes in well under that. Additionally, with his age in mind, he could realistically sign a two-year deal with one year fully guaranteed.
It’s true the Cowboys aren’t aggressive in free agency and I wouldn’t expect them to be in the mix for the Cincinnati Bengals’ Tee Higgins, for instance. But Cooper is closer to their kind of free agent than first meets the eye.
