Dallas Cowboys: 3 Inexpensive free agent replacements for Amari Cooper
By Reid Hanson
If the Dallas Cowboys are unable to keep Amari Cooper this offseason there are a couple viable options expected to be available on the open market
Amari Cooper is a free agent. As is Dak Prescott, Byron Jones, Robert Quinn, Maliek Collins, Anthony Brown, and over a dozen other Dallas Cowboys. Dallas wants to keep Amari, but the harsh reality is they may not be able to given the multitude of other personnel issues they have to deal with.
Amari Cooper and the Dallas Cowboys have mutual interest in hammering out a long-term deal. It’s going to come down to money. If Dallas is willing to make Amari the second highest paid WR in the NFL, it’s likely a deal can be made (Spotrac estimates his market value to be $19.7M/season).
But if that figure is too rich for the Cowboys’ blood, other, cheaper options exist. We’re going to dive into those budget friendly options today. Not listed are free agent headliners A.J. Green and Emmanuel Sanders. They might be cheaper than Amari but they aren’t “inexpensive” by any means.
Why not just tag Amari Cooper?
The obvious solution to all this is to use either the franchise tag or transition tag on Amari. With the CBA set to expire, NFL teams are allowed to use both tags here in 2020 (most seasons teams can only use one or the other). Since Dak’s clearly getting the franchise tag, they could just use the transition tag on Amari, right?
Not so fast.
Players are voting on the new CBA proposal as we speak. If the CBA gets ratified, the Dallas Cowboys can no longer use two tags. That means Dak is the only free agent who gets protected, subsequently exposing Amari Cooper on the open market.
So today we look at that scenario. We explore inexpensive alternatives at WR should Dallas be unable to retain Amari Cooper. Are these options as good as Coop? No. That’s why they’re inexpensive options. But they are viable players who can temporarily fill the void. Let’s get started…