The Dallas Cowboys were poised to have a deep playoff run last season.
They won the NFC East by a landslide and had one of the NFL’s top offenses.
However, their high hopes ended in smoke when the San Francisco 49ers pulled off an upset during the Super Wild Card Weekend.
Their performance in that game led team owner Jerry Jones to call out certain players, including wide receiver Amari Cooper.
The former Alabama standout did have a down year in 2021 after finishing with just 865 receiving yards in 15 games.
He only had two games of at least 100 yards.
Rumors spread that he and quarterback Dak Prescott didn’t get along.
But before further speculation, Pro Football Focus writer Ari Meirov shared a recent update about Cooper.
#Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones spoke to reporters on Monday and was asked about Amari Cooper's future with the team: "It's too early for me to address that."
Cooper has a large $22M cap hit next season and the #Cowboys would save $16M in cap space if they were to move on.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 1, 2022
Meirov said: “#Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones spoke to reporters on Monday and was asked about Amari Cooper’s future with the team: ‘It’s too early for me to address that.’ Cooper has a large $22M cap hit next season and the Cowboys would save $16 million in cap space if they were to move on.”
As it stands, the Cowboys are $22 million over the cap based on 2022 projections.
Letting Cooper go would be a big step towards bringing the cap count below the limit.
A Trade For Cooper Perhaps?
The Cowboys can try and offer Cooper to another team in need of a wide receiver.
That way, they could get back some assets that may help them with their offseason plans.
Otherwise, letting Cooper go will only incur a $6 million dead cap.
With him out of the picture, Cedrick Wilson might flourish even more alongside CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup.
But there must be a way to patch things up and give Cooper another opportunity to thrive.
NEXT: Can The Cowboys Trade Ezekiel Elliott?