With what feels like an ole' fashioned Wild West standoff between the Dallas Cowboys and Wide Receiver Amari Cooper to determine his future, another twist was created today when NFL Reporter Jane Slater reported:
Don't expect news on Amari Cooper until we get closer to the 5th day of the league year? Why? I'm told the #Cowboys have been fielding some calls. Advantage for teams? You don't battle for him on open market. They get to redo the deal and can spread money out via signing bonus.
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) March 9, 2022
Her report would come as a surprise since last week NFL Senior Insider Adam Schefter tweeted the franchise was likely to release Cooper before March 20, since his contract would become fully guaranteed if they didn't move him.
Additionally, Slater said to not expect any news regarding the Cowboys and Cooper until we get closer to the 5th day of the new league year, which begins March 16.
In a piece written by Jason Willis on ITS, he talked about the Jacksonville Jaguars making a sense as a trade partner for the Cowboys. Willis brought up that it would be somewhat of a homecoming for Cooper, who is a native of Miami, Florida, and would serve as a huge weapon for Jacksonville Jaguars Quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
This season, the Jaguars' leading wide receiver was Marvin Jones who had 832 yards but doesn't garner the respect as a true WR1.
(It also didn't help the Jaguars just flat-out stunk with Head Coach Urban Meyer, but that dialogue is for another day.)
With Cooper, who finished with 865 yards while playing in an offense that had multiple mouths to feed, you're getting a proven, elite wideout that makes life easier for his team and can take your offense to another level.
Additionally, the Jaguars can afford to take on Cooper's $20-million salary and the Boys would be able to get something at least, and that's way better than nothing.
Now to those who are questioning what a hypothetical return could look like if the Boys decided to work with the Jaguars, I got an answer for you, and it comes from PFF (Pro Football Focus).
In a Cooper-Jacksonville trade scenario, PFF had the Cowboys receiving a 2022 2nd Round NFL Draft Pick (No. 33) and a 2022 5th Round Pick (No.156).
🚨 Hypothetical Trade 🚨
Amari Cooper ➡️ Jacksonville? 👀 pic.twitter.com/o7sPyK0zg0
— PFF (@PFF) February 23, 2022
This trade is likely alarming to some fans since they saw the Cowboys trade a 2019 first-round pick to the then-Oakland Raiders for him, and it's expected you would want to see a similar return. However, the odds of teams overpaying for Cooper are slim since they know they can likely sign him in free agency if the team ends up releasing him.
With the Jags trade, the franchise would have three picks in the Top-50, and it allows them to fill key positions with two, high-quality players, or even package their picks to move up a few spots in the first round.
In other hypothetical trade ideas circulating the internet, the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Washington Commanders, Atlanta Falcons, and San Francisco 49ers were seen as possible trade partners for Cooper's services.
