Report: Dallas Cowboys deal receiver Amari Cooper in surprising trade

The Dallas Cowboys have traded star wide receiver Amari Cooper, according to several Saturday morning reports, and the trade package for a four-time Pro Bowl selection may come as a bit of a surprise.

Cooper, who’s spent the last three-and-a-half seasons in Dallas, has been one of the Cowboys’ top targets ever since his arrival. Yet the Cowboys traded him for pennies on the dollar, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who reported that the package included Amari Cooper and a sixth-round pick in exchange for the Cleveland Browns’ 2022 fifth-round pick and sixth-round pick.

Cooper finished last season with 865 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on 68 receptions, while appearing in just 15 games. Those were all career-lows for Cooper during his short stint in Dallas, as the star wideout had notched 1,114 receiving yards and five touchdowns on 92 receptions in 2020, and 1,189 receiving yards and five touchdowns on 79 receptions in 2019.

A product of Alabama, Cooper was a star in Tuscaloosa, too. In 2014, Cooper was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year, while also being named a first-team All-SEC selection, a unanimous All-American and the Biletnikoff Award winner. Cooper was selected in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft, as the then-Oakland Raiders picked him with the fourth-overall pick.

Cooper’s trade isn’t all that surprising, given that the Cowboys had been reportedly looking to move their star wideout for quite some time. Cooper signed a five-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys in 2020, worth a total of $100,000,000 and $40,000,000 guaranteed at signing. His 2022 salary, which is $20,000,000, was set to become fully guaranteed on March 20, 2022, so the Cowboys had a decision to make — move Cooper before March 20, even if it meant accepting a lowly trade offer in return, or eat the $20,000,000 in guaranteed salary.

Reports suggested that the Cowboys tried unsuccessfully to restructure Cooper’s contract in order to keep him in Dallas. Because the Cowboys front office was unable to find a suitable trade offer over the course of the past several days, the Cowboys even considered releasing Cooper, per Jeremy Fowler.

Prior to his arrival in Dallas, Cooper had a strong three-year tenure with the Raiders. His rookie season, Cooper amassed 1,070 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 72 receptions, and in 2016 — his second season in the NFL — Cooper had another 1,000-plus-yard season, going for 1,153 and five touchdowns on 83 receptions.

Cooper, 27, will team up with Jarvis Landry in Cleveland. In seven NFL seasons, Cooper has amassed 7,076 receiving yards and 46 touchdowns, reeling in 517 receptions in 108 games played.