Dallas Cowboys: Why Amari Cooper should be the next re-signed

This is why over the next few weeks the Dallas Cowboys should be focusing on Amari Cooper’s next contract above all others

The Dallas Cowboys have a lot of personnel decisions to make over the next 12 months. With Dak Prescott, Byron Jones, Jaylon Smith, Amari Cooper, and DeMarcus Lawrence all looking for brand new mega-deals, Stephen Jones and the Dallas front office has no time to waste.

And while resolving the Lawrence situation is the most pressing, and locking up Dak Prescott is the most important, it’s Amari Cooper who should be the primary focus right now. Here’s why…

Cooper

I think it’s safe to say the Dallas Cowboys fully intend on re-signing Amari Cooper. Last season we saw firsthand what this offense looks like without a No. 1 receiver and no one whats to see that again. Blessed with an elite skill set and an anti-diva personality (a rarity in the WR ranks), Cooper is exactly the kind of player a team looks for in a cornerstone player.

There’s no debate over “if” the Dallas Cowboys will re-sign Cooper, the only debate now is over “when” and for “how much”. Based on the annual inflationary costs of free agency, we can safely say the cost of doing business rises each and every year. That’s why it makes no sense to wait this out.

Related Story. Why Dallas should re-sign Dak long-term, ASAP. light

The Dollars and Sense

Why would Amari Cooper take priority over Dak, Tank, Jaylon, and Byron?

Because of the money, it makes the most sense to handle now. Amari Cooper is playing on his fifth year option of $13,924,000, all of which counts against the cap this season, inhibiting what the Cowboys can do financially. Signing Cooper to a multi-year extension allows them to spread the money out and free more cash to get deals done this season (particularly with Dak Prescott).

If the Cowboys can address Coop, they’ll have money to give Dak, and kill time until Tank is ready to negotiate again.

Conventional wisdom says DeMarcus Lawrence should get done first since he’s also clogging up the cap with his $20 million franchise tag. But all indications are talks have reached a stalemate and likely won’t seriously resume again until this summer when the deadline for a deal gets closer.

League wide, it’s rare any deal gets done for a franchised player over the spring, and it’s almost always (if at all) around training camp when anything gets agreed upon.

Proactively coming to an agreement with Cooper now, will free funds to negotiate with Dak. And none of it will have a negative impact their ability to re-sign Tank long-term later when tank is ready to negotiate again.

Why not wait?

I think we all know the answer to this one. The Dallas Cowboys waited on DeMarcus Lawrence last offseason and look where it got them. They could have proactively locked him up long-term for considerably less than what he’s asking for today (which I suspect is more than what Khalil Mack is making).

More importantly, putting this situation off until next year means the Dallas Cowboys will have the impossible task of retaining multiple franchise cornerstones with only one franchise tag at their disposal. The last time the Cowboys a situation even remotely close to this, DeMarco Murray walked out the door.

Resolving as many contracts as possible this offseason will make next offseason manageable. If the Cowboys can address Coop, they’ll have money to give Dak, and kill time until Tank is ready to negotiate again. With any luck, the Dallas Cowboys will enter the 2020 offseason with just Byron Jones and Jaylon Smith as unrestricted free agents – considerably more manageable than what 2020 looks like today should the Cowboys do nothing.

light. Must Read. Cowboys Complete Mock Draft: Free agency edition

Next. What the Heck Are the Cowboys Doing This Offseason?. dark

Dak Prescott and DeMarcus Lawrence may be more important to re-sign but given the stalemate in Lawrence’s negotiations, and time/space needed for Dak, handling Cooper’s contract now makes sense for all of the players involved

Published on 03/24/2019 at 12:00 PM
Last updated at 03/26/2019 at 13:05 PM

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