If you said this time last week that the Dallas Cowboys wouldn’t take a single wide receiver in the NFL Draft, you would have been laughed off the stage. Incredibly, that is exactly what happened after the Panthers stole the draft’s best receiver in Tetairoa McMillan right before Dallas.
The front office deserves credit for not forcing the position. They trusted their board, but now they are left scrambling to find a new starting WR to complement CeeDee Lamb.
The Cowboys were apparently in trade talks with an AFC North team before the draft. It’s unclear how far negotiations progressed, if at all, but Jerry Jones and Co. have turned their attention to a familiar face.
According to Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, there is “building team interest” in bringing Amari Cooper back to Dallas.
Cowboys mulling Amari Cooper reunion after not taking a WR in NFL Draft
Harris noted that a reunion will hinge on Cooper’s interest. At this juncture, it is not known if Cooper is open to a Cowboys reunion.
It has been speculated if bridges were burnt after Dallas foolishly traded Cooper to the Browns following the 2021 season. Cooper was admittedly dinged up that season, but he still posted 68 catches for 865 yards and eight touchdowns in 15 games.
Rather than keep Cooper for a reasonable $20 million per year, the front office elected to extend Michael Gallup, who was recovering from a torn ACL at the time. Gallup was released after the 2023 season and has since signed with Washington following a brief retirement.
Trading Cooper will go down as one of the worst trades in franchise history. Re-signing him won’t undo that disaster, but it would be a fitting twist to a relationship that never should have ended in the first place.
Entering his age-31 season, Cooper isn’t the tour de force he was when he last played in Dallas. However, he has chemistry and familiarity with head coach Brian Schottenheimer, as well as Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and several members of the offense.
It’s a no-brainer if there ever was one.
