Amari Cooper is coming off his worst season as a member of the Dallas Cowboys. His lackluster campaign came at an unfortunate time, as the Cowboys could conceivably release him with a relatively small financial penalty this offseason. If Dallas decides to part ways, where are some of Cooper’s landing spots on the 2022 free-agent market?
Amari Cooper’s free-agent profile
Cooper, who will turn 28 this summer, finished the 2021 campaign with 68 receptions for 865 yards and 8 touchdowns. He missed Weeks 11 and 12 after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Cooper was expected to cede some WR1 duties to fellow Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb, but there’s no doubt that his season did not go as planned.
If you don’t believe me, just ask team owner and general manager Jerry Jones. Here’s what he had to say about Cooper last week on 105.3 The Fan:
I don’t have any comment on Cooper’s contract. I thought that the way we were playing early when we did make something happen, I thought Cooper had a big part of it. And I’m not being trite. But how he fits in, he should take half the field with him when he runs a route. 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.
Cooper signed a five-year, $100 million contract with the Cowboys in March 2020. While that total figure sounds impressive, the deal was not very strong from the player’s perspective. While Cooper received $40 million in full guarantees, $30 million of that total came in his 2020-21 base salaries. As such, Dallas could release him this offseason and incur only $6 million in dead money (while creating $16 million in cap space).
Given that WR Michael Gallup, WR Cedrick Wilson, and TE Dalton Schultz are all pending free agents, it’s unclear if the Cowboys would be willing to cut Cooper. They could certainly use the extra cap space, as they’re projected to be more than $20 million in the red in 2022. But Dallas would be down to Lamb and prayers at the pass-catching positions if Cooper were let go.
Amari Cooper’s landing spots
If the Cowboys decide to cut ties with Cooper, where might he end up? Here are a few ideas.
Chicago Bears
No matter who takes over as general manager and head coach, the Bears will likely be aggressive on the free-agent market. They should have roughly $30 million to spend, and they have the benefit of working around Justin Fields’ cheap rookie contract. The NFC North could see plenty of tumult this offseason given the unstable situations in both Green Bay and Minnesota. The division could be there for the taking.
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Chicago must address its offensive line in the coming months, but they also need to find weapons for Fields. Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet is a decent start, but the club can do better. Allen Robinson posted the worst season of his career in 2021, while Marquise Goodwin and Damiere Byrd have been near the bottom of the yards per route run leaderboards for the past two years. Cooper could be sold on the opportunity of playing with an exciting young QB and the prospect of competing in a potentially Aaron Rodgers-less NFC North.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns are overwhelmingly likely to release Jarvis Landry and save nearly $15 million in cap space this offseason. If they follow through with that move, Cleveland would be left with Donovan Peoples-Jones, Anthony Schwartz, and Ja’Marcus Bradley atop its wide receiver depth chart. That’s not ideal, especially for what’s shaping up to be a make-a-break season for Baker Mayfield.
Cooper seems like an ideal candidate for the Browns. He probably won’t command a lengthy deal. That could appeal to GM Andrew Berry, as Cleveland’s front office likely doesn’t want to get tied down to any long-term contracts with a potential quarterback change on the horizon. Cooper, meanwhile, would be the Browns’ clear No. 1 option in the passing game.
Washington Football Team
When Cooper became a free agent in 2020, the only team aside from the Cowboys that seriously pursued him was Washington. While the Football Team now has a different decision-making structure in place, it wouldn’t surprise me to see them make another run at their division rival’s weapon.
Washington signed Curtis Samuel last offseason and can’t get out of his contract yet. Given his injury history, he should be viewed as a sunk cost at this point. Sadly, it’s just not realistic to count on him as a 2022 starter. Instead, pairing Terry McLaurin with Cooper would give WFT a legitimate tandem at wide receiver. With a rookie QB or a veteran stop-gap, Washington’s passing offense could have more life next season.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are hosting the AFC Championship Game for the fourth consecutive season after knocking out the Bills in a high-scoring instant classic Sunday night. How could they possibly need more offense?
As amazing as Kansas City’s performance was, it did highlight how concentrated their aerial attack is. Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce combined for 65% of Patrick Mahomes’ passing yards against Buffalo. During the regular season, they each had a target share of over 20%.
The Chiefs’ offense is incredible, but they might be even more effective with a third option in the passing game. Sammy Watkins played that role 2018-20, and Cooper would be an upgrade on what Watkins offered. The rest of the NFL should boycott the idea of Cooper landing in Kansas City.
Miami Dolphins
Jaylen Waddle and DeVante Parker represent a nice start to building a WR corps, but Miami doesn’t have a finished product yet. They still need at least one more piece (in addition to re-signing TE Mike Gesicki) to complement their 2022 QB. Of course, we don’t know who exactly that signal-caller will be or what offense they’ll be running. But whether it’s Tua Tagovailoa, Deshaun Watson, or another quarterback under center next year, the Dolphins could stand to add a WR.
Miami projects to have the most cap space in the league in 2022. Thus, there’s no excuse for them not to be active in the free-agent market. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross clearly wants to make a splash. Landing a receiver like Cooper (among other moves) could do the trick.
