Inside The Star: Are the Cowboys About To 'Lose' Amari Cooper?
FRISCO - The same reporter keeps issuing the same report that paints an ugly picture of Amari Cooper leaving the Dallas Cowboys. But here inside The Star? The same truth - exactly the opposite of that report - remains in place.
"As far as extending him (or not),'' owner Jerry Jones recently said, "I know that no one has that type of information because I'm the only one that ultimately makes that decision. I have no reason to think Amari Cooper won't finish his career with the Dallas Cowboys.''
Jones issued that statement about a month ago, after CBS' Jason LaCanfora reported on Oct. 22 that Cooper's departure is "becoming increasingly likely" after talks hadn't gained any traction.
This morning, LaCanfora did it again, re-issuing essentially the same exact report, this time featuring an incendiary headline insisting that Dallas "will lose Cooper in free agency.''
This may be LaCanfora's view. But it is not the position of the Joneses. Nor, I can tell you, is it the position of Cooper, who was visibly flattered when told that Jerry informed 105.3 The Fan that the owner said he envisioned the Pro Bowl receiver "retiring as a Cowboy.''
Cooper is just 25 years old, with three Pro Bowls behind him, another one being earned this year, and a long future ahead of him. Also ahead of him is a massive contract - $20 million APY suddenly seems a possible going rate by next spring - and in a worst-case scenario, an offseason tag while negotiations continue.
LaCanfora has frequently written that Dallas is in trouble regarding the signing of Dak Prescott and Cooper because there is only one "tag'' available to be utilized. This is also in correct. In addition to the Cowboys' intentions to sign both players (without the need for tags), they have available to them two tags: both the franchise and transition tags. In Cooper's case, a transition tag would pay him about $16 million - less than Dallas will end up offering, as the Cowboys have already made a proposal to make him a top-five-paid player at his position.
"We're proud to have Amari,'' Jerry said, reflecting on the trade a year ago that sent a first-round pick to the Raiders. "He's impactful to our team. That's exactly what we used that pick for. He's certainly performed at the level that we had anticipated.''
And the Cowboys - with $80-million-plus in cap room for 2020, a big chunk of that intentionally ear-marked for Cooper - can certainly be expected to pay him at a level they anticipated, too.
