Amari Cooper And Dak Prescott's 'Backyard Privacy'
FRISCO - It feels like ages since Dallas Cowboys star wide receiver Amari Cooper has flashed his likably quiet personality and his seemingly-knowing grin for the cameras. But as the Cowboys training camp heats up at The Star, Cooper is answering some burning Cowboys questions - and not answering some burning Cowboys questions as well.
"We've all been getting together pretty consistently for months now,'' the Pro Bowl receiver says of joining workouts led by QB Dak Prescott. "Working on route-running, working on the offense and everything like that. We've been getting a lot of work in, getting that timing right as if we were in minicamp or OTAs.''
And where did some of those pre-camp sessions take place?
Amari revealed that Prescott, while buying himself a handsome new home in Prosper, built a COVID-19-era-friendly football field ... in his backyard.
"In terms of the team, I feel like everybody has been training, everybody has been working hard in the offseason,'' Cooper said. "And everybody is on an even playing field because all the teams are starting late, so whatever the situation is and whatever the circumstance is, I feel like we’re going to be ready. I know I’m going to be ready.”
Part of that "everybody'' now includes rookie receiver CeeDee Lamb, and Amari said the "expectation'' is that he and Lamb and Michael Gallup will become the rare NFL trio of wide receivers on one team to each achieve 1,000 yards in the air.
"The expectation,'' he said, "is to have three 1,000-yard receivers this year.”
READ MORE: Amari Wants 3 1,000 WRs; How Rare Is That?
Naturally, the conversation turned from Dak's backyard to Dak's contract stuff. Cooper was happy to discuss the reasons for his own decision to turn down lucrative offers elsewhere ... but he would not divulge any of his thoughts on the inner workings of Prescott and the drama of that contract situation.
READ MORE: 'Dak Will Make The Cowboys Pay,' Predicts Johnston
His loyalty to his quarterback is endearing. ... But it's also his nature - sort of a "policy'' of his nature.
"I don't speak on other people's contract situations," Cooper said, and when pushed to describe Dak's mindset after a long-term deal didn't get done, he responded cleverly, "I wouldn't describe it."
That's "policy'' and "personality,'' but maybe it also says something about chemistry and loyalty ... the sort of things that can be developed in a guy's backyard.
