Dallas Cowboys Reportedly Re-Sign Amari Cooper After Redskins Attempted To Steal Him Away
Amari Cooper is reportedly staying with the Dallas Cowboys. Even better, it looks like it’s going to be a little while before fans of the team have to worry about the roller coaster that was this offseason.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Twitter that the Cowboys are set to sign the wide receiver for five years and $100 million. While it’s not yet clear how much of that is guaranteed money, it would mean Cooper could collect around $20 million per season, making him one of the highest-paid receivers in the league.
If holding onto Cooper — who some thought might be headed to faraway Arizona today — wasn’t good enough, Dallas also managed to beat out a division rival for his services. Schefter also noted on Twitter that per his sources, the Washington Redskins attempted to swoop in and steal the star wideout at the last minute, only for Dallas to prevail.
To some degree, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones won the Amari Cooper sweepstakes. The former Oakland Raiders star has made it clear over the last few months he wanted to stay in Dallas if it was possible.
The length and amount of the contract were always going to play a part in that. Whether or not Jones also brought back quarterback Dak Prescott was also said to be instrumental.
The Cowboys took care of that by placing the franchise tag on Prescott earlier in the day Monday. The tag doesn’t close the door on the two sides working out a long-term deal. What it does is make sure the signal-caller can’t listen to other suitors while he negotiates with the organization.
There is still an incentive to get a long-term deal done. Prescott had made it clear he wasn’t all that keen on sticking in town for just one more year, as he’d like to get paid and would prefer a multi-year contract.
The question now is whether or not there is money under the cap to do that. Along with just how much money is guaranteed in the Cooper contract, it’s not yet known what the salary cap hit is going to be. It was thought the team would be able to bring back two of its three biggest stars if they got creative.
Cornerback Byron Jones has officially left town, so that could have freed up enough salary-cap space to make something work between the Cowboys and their star quarterback. For now, fans of the team can revel in keeping Cooper away from the rival Redskins.
