Cowboys NFL Free Agency Notebook: 'Closer on Cooper' Could Mean Tag on Dak

FRISCO - A Monday morning notebook straight from Frisco, where the Dallas Cowboys have themselves a new CBA to work under ... and so much work to do - though maybe the work on Amari Cooper is "close'' to done ...

FREE AGENCY IN FRISCO

*The clock is obviously ticking on the Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper ... and on Robert Quinn and Byron Jones and about 25 other Cowboys, too.

*The buzz from inside The Star is that Dallas is "closer to'' finalizing a deal with Cooper than it is with Prescott. If so, fine - it means the Cowboys maintain contractual control of both ... and the negotiations with Dak can continue.

UPDATE: Dak has indeed been tagged. Full story here.

*Dak vs. Ryan Tannehill? I know conventional wisdom says the Cowboys have waited too long to get Prescott’s contract done, because the longer they wait, the higher the price.

But I think it's rather ignorant to forget that Dallas can't "do a deal'' unless Dak signs it - which he almost did in September, and by 10:59 a.m. today, can still do before being franchise tagged.

Tannehill’s contract with the Titans gives him $91 million in his first three seasons. Only Russell Wilson ($107 million), Aaron Rodgers ($103 million) and Matt Ryan ($94 million) are above that. And - today or before July 15 or someday somewhere - here comes Dak.

*Amari vs. DeAndre Hopkins? If Houston is serious about trading Hopkins, age 27, the Cowboys should investigate. How high would the pick have to be to get a superstar with a contract averaging just $15 million APY for three more years.

Would you give up the pick while saying goodbye to Amari - and saving $5 million per year in the process?

*Second-tier Cowboys FA? A cornerback and a big-body 1-Tech?

THE VOTE IS IN

*The players get to vote. The vote stands. And the guys who didn't vote? They exercised their rights as well.

The final tally was tight: 1,019 players voted in favor of the new CBA, 959 were opposed. About 500 players didn't vote. But as with any election in a democracy, a citizen has the right to do anything he wishes with his vote.

And, as with any election in a democracy, if a citizen is ignorant as to the issue, maybe not voting is a great idea.

In any event, 51.5 percent of the vote counts exactly like 100 percent. And so it's time for the angry vocal NFL stars who went public against it before (well within their rights, of course) to support their union and their brothers now.

*By the way, yes, it seems likely that the COVID-19 pandemic, which is already causing financial uncertainly for most of us, served as a nudge to players to take the money and run.

CHANGE IS A'COMIN'

*A 17-game regular season? Not yet, but that's coming after this season.

*Expanded playoffs? That's now. The league will add a wild-card team to each conference. The top seed in each conference will get a first-round bye. The No. 2 seed will play the No. 7 seed and off we'll go ...

*Is there now more cap room? Not exactly. The cap is up $10 mil, to $198 mil, yes. But a) teams were already planning on that and b) With the advent of 55-man rosters, extra P-Squad guys and minimum raises (previously $510,000, now $610,000) that "increase'' will get eaten up quickly.

*The players didn't get all the health benefits I wished for them. But we all got two helpful things: The decriminalization of pot and stripping of Article 46 power.

Players no longer will get suspended for positive pot tests, and they’ll be tested only in the first two weeks of training camp (rather than the previous four-month window. And I'm told the emphasis on a player who is caught will be treatment, not punishment.

Notably, a DUI gets an automatic three-game ban. But pot? Essentially, the owners are now saying they don't want to catch anybody.

Is all of this good for Randy Gregory, by the way? Read that story here.

Article 46? In most disciplinary cases, it'll be a neutral arbitrator, not the commissioner, who rules.

FREE AGENCY OPTICS

*I'm not saying starting free agency today is "bad optics.'' I'm just asking if you - as you are maybe self-quarantining, missing a payday, or already, God forbid sick - think this might be a "Let them eat cake'' moment.

The NFL is plowing ahead with all of this, though, and maybe the impact will be the reverse of that. Maybe we'll need an escape. Maybe "The NFL Offseason'' is the only sport we'll have for a while.

NFL DRAFT

*How dead is the Draft Party in Las Vegas idea? Even before Sunday's CDC guideline about shutting down gatherings for eight weeks, I'm told one major Vegas corporation that controls 7,000 hotel rooms has for this week just 400 rooms reserved.

The NFL Draft can go on. Remotely. Online. On TV. On the radio. But not in Vegas. Vegas is dead ... and so is the idea of holding a public party for half-a-million people.

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