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The Dallas Cowboys have painted themselves into a corner with their salary cap situation, which led to them getting rid of starting receiver Amari Cooper.
With too many free agents pending and not enough funds to go around, the Cowboys elected to re-sign Michael Gallup. They subsequently traded Cooper to the Cleveland Browns.
The issue with the trade is not where he ended up, but what his estimated value was. The Cowboys received just a fifth- and sixth-round draft pick for the star receiver.
Fellow receiver AJ Brown of the Tennessee Titans is one of many who were shellshocked by how little Dallas got for Cooper. Brown tweeted:
"One of the league's best route runner. Maybe the best route runner in the league is worth a fifth and a sixth-round pick ... smh"
It's been widely known that the Cowboys have wanted to move on from Amari Cooper. They would have likely hoped to get back higher draft picks via a trade for Cooper. However, they shot themselves in the foot by letting other teams know he would end up being released if no one traded for him. This is why Dallas only got two late-round picks in return.
Part of the reason why Cooper won't be in Dallas is because of his cap hit, which is set to reach $20 million over each of the next three seasons. With Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Michael Gallup, and Dalton Schultz already seeing large paydays, Cooper was the odd man out.
Can Amari Cooper outproduce his trade value in Cleveland?
Parts of the NFL community believe Amari Cooper is past his prime anyway and will go on to waste the rest of his career in Ohio.
Others, however, believe Cooper is just what the Browns need to inject some life into a rather dormant passing game with Baker Mayfield at quarterback.
Cooper might not have been a top-10 receiver in 2021 but part of that stems from the Cowboys having an abundance of playmakers. He still managed 865 yards in 15 games and eight touchdowns. In three full seasons in Texas, he had two 1,000-yard seasons and had a career-high 92 catches in 2020.
He's also only 27 years old despite being on his third team as a former top-five draft pick in 2015. Sometimes a superstar needs room to be a superstar and there was little room to breathe with Dallas.
With the Browns, Amari Cooper enters as the clear-cut No.1 receiver with a drop-off in talent behind him. Jarvis Landry went on the trade block the same day the news broke about Cooper's trade.
That leaves Donovan Peoples-Jones, Rashard Higgins and Anthony Schwartz as the next best options. The Browns may plan to bring in additional help at the position this offseason, but that should not stop Cooper from becoming a top-15 receiver once again.
His strengths are his route-running and separation with his footwork. Cooper has had issues with drops in the past, but it's not a deal-breaker for someone of his caliber.
Cleveland might be making a change at quarterback in the near future, which could hurt Amari Cooper's stats. At least the new guy will have an established No. 1 to lean on.
