Amari Cooper Competition: NFC West Team to Sign Cowboys WR?
FRISCO - Amid constant speculation that the Dallas Cowboys will be parting ways with receiver Amari Cooper before the beginning of the NFL's new league year March 16, rumors continue to surface regarding possible landing spots.
Cooper's issue - along with some concerns about his intensity and consistency - is his $20 million salary that becomes guaranteed on March 20. The Cowboys simply don't have the cap room in 2022 to easily pay it.
Speculation has swirled since the news about Cooper's potential release, something that has been discussed in this space for months.
Could the Cardinals be a good fit for the Cowboys' wideout? Cards Wire thinks so:
"The Arizona Cardinals have a pressing need at outside receiver. Amari Cooper would be a home-run signing for the recently extended general manager Steve Keim. It’s a position the Cardinals have struggled to find stability dating back to Larry Fitzgerald’s prime. At 27 years old, a pairing of Cooper and DeAndre Hopkins would give the Cardinals an explosive offense capable of taking the team to new heights. Cooper’s market value is projected around $17 million annually. It’s a tough ask with all the needs the Cardinals need to fill in one offseason. Still, with a backloaded contract similar to the deal J.J. Watt signed last year, it could work."
Arizona receiver Christian Kirk is entering free agency, and Cooper arguably has a higher ceiling. The Cardinals current primary wideout, DeAndre Hopkins, has been dealing with injury issues since his trade from the Houston Texans and Cooper would be able to take some of that workload.
Arizona would be just one of several teams in the Cooper sweepstakes (we list seven candidates here), and probably not even the favorite, considering that team is not in much better salary cap shape than the Cowboys. But if there is mutual interest there, he'd be a good fit, and make the Cardinals a little bit better as they compete for the 2022 NFC West title with the reigning Super Bowl champion L.A. Rams.
