ESPN Analyst Takes Shot at Cowboys WR Amari Cooper, Predicts Patriots Sign
FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys and Amari Cooper are in the throes of change, with the Pro Bowl receiver unlikely to remain on the roster by the time his $20 million contract becomes guaranteed on March 21.
Options - renegotiate, trade, cut - remain.
And so do prospective employers.
We've pinpointed possible landing spots for Cooper, and now ESPN's Louis Riddick - himself an NFL GM candidate during the recent hiring cycle - suggested New England as the best destination for the 27-year-old wide receiver.
“Yeah, I think this has New England Patriots written all over it because they really need someone who has No. 1-wide receiver capability in the form of Amari Cooper,” Riddick said.
New England has been lacking in that department; the Patriots haven't had a 1,000-yard receiver in the last two years. Cooper, meanwhile, is a consistent 1,000-yard producer, having achieved that mark five times in seven seasons (though he reached just 865 yards in 2021).
Riddick did note a concern about Cooper's ability to "dial in and tap in'' to his full ability, an issue alluded to in our exclusive report on one of the Cowboys' concerns about him. (See "Did Cooper Quit?'' here.)
“This issue with Amari is getting him to do this over 17 games,” Riddick said. “That’s two teams now (including the Raiders, who traded him to Dallas) that have said, ‘Look, you’re good, but you’re just not worth the money we paid you that was really based on projecting you to be a guy who was a 90-, 100-catch guy per year. He just hasn’t really been able to really dial in and tap into his athletic ability and his football-playing ability at that level.”
Can Patriots coach Bill Belichick help Amari Cooper "dial in and tap in''? The NFL may be about to find out.
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