Jerry Jones has no regrets over Amari Cooper trade despite criticism

A look at the Dallas Cowboys‘ stat sheet in their divisional round loss versus the 49ers provided a pretty clear picture of where the team went wrong on the roster in 2022. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones wouldn’t admit to regrets over the Amari Cooper trade last offseason, but noted they placed “too much reliance” on other members of the wide receiver group to step up.

Although the Cowboys missed some star power, especially once Tony Pollard exited the playoff matchup early due to injury, Jones believes the trade-off from the Cooper trade was necessary regardless.

By trading the former Alabama first-rounder, Dallas got back $20 million in cap space. The free agents they re-signed with that money were pivotal to getting the Cowboys back to the playoffs. Dorance Armstrong, Leighton Vander Esch and Jayron Kearse, as well as veterans Anthony Barr and Jason Peters, all benefitted from the move.

“The elephant in the room that you’re talking about, was when I look at the salary that was involved there — over $20 million a year,” Jones said. “And I look at what we got with that salary to help this team, that we wouldn’t have been able to have on this team had we kept him. I like what we did.”

Cowboys wideouts fail to make up for lost production

Jones did attempt to bolster the room via the draft by taking Jalen Tolbert out of South Alabama with a third-round pick. The team expected contributions from him as a rookie but he ended the year with two catches for 12 yards in eight games played.

Michael Gallup also had a down year in terms of production after signing his new contract last offseason and coming off of an ACL tear.

“You could say that we probably had too much reliance on what Tolbert could do, because we were high on him coming out and thought he could immediately be a factor,” Jones said. “We had thought possibly that we could have better results relative to Gallup, as far as his rehab and where he is. So I can say that.”

On top of disappointing seasons from Tolbert and Gallup, Dallas also ended up releasing James Washington after he broke his foot early in the year.

Amari Cooper ended up posting 78 catches for 1,160 yards and six touchdowns, leading the Browns receiving corps in 2022.

The Cowboys will have several opportunities to give Dak Prescott more weapons in the next few months with the draft and free agency on the horizon.