Jerry Jones Should Have Never Traded Amari Cooper
The Dallas Cowboys made a splash by trading for Amari Cooper in October 2018. After making this deal to the Raiders, Cowboys fans were excited about what Amari Cooper could bring to the organization. However, that tenure ended on March 2022 after the team traded Cooper away to the Cleveland Browns. And for Jerry, he should have never traded away Amari Cooper.
Cooper came to Dallas for a 2019 first-round pick, that the Raiders used to select safety Jonathan Abram. From the Raiders’ perspective, Abram had two serviceable years in the team’s move to Las Vegas back in 2020 and 2021, but they much would have preferred Cooper to stay and help Derek Carr.
In Cooper’s tenure in Dallas, he put up his best career stats in those three-and-a-half seasons.
- 56 games played
- 292 catches on 429 targets (68.1%)
- 3,893 receiving yards
- 27 touchdowns
- 192 first downs
Cooper was not just the best receiver in Dallas, but he was a big piece of the offense’s identity. The Cowboys had Ezekiel Elliott dominating the run game, but the Cowboys built the receiving core around Cooper. The team would add Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb in subsequent years to intimidate offenses with a three-headed monster at wideout. You could make the argument that without Cooper, we wouldn’t have seen the production out of Michael Gallup or the quick progression of CeeDee Lamb.
So when it comes to trading a first-round pick away for Cooper, he was well worth the price, even if he didn’t help deliver a NFC Championship Game appearance like the other Cowboys players in the past 30 years.
The Cowboys saw Cooper’s price tag and traded away the then-28-year-old to the Cleveland Browns. The Cowboys traded Cooper to Cleveland for a 2022 fifth-round pick and swapping sixth-round picks. So when it comes to the return on investment alone, the Cowboys didn’t get anything close to the first-round pick they gave up for Cooper initially. On top of that, the pick was Matt Waletzko, who was released this past week who didn’t pan out in his three-year pro career.
Since the trade, Cooper went on to produce these numbers in three years, from being in Cleveland and his eight-game stint with the Buffalo Bills after being traded (again) at the deadline.
- 46 games played
- 194 catches on 345 targets
- 2,957 receiving yards
- 18 touchdowns
- 136 first downs
Cooper’s main years were 2022 and 2023 with the Browns, producing with a lackluster quarterback carousel. The Cowboys could have used Cooper during those years because the production at receiver dropped drastically outside of CeeDee Lamb. The second-highest receivers in those two years were Noah Brown in 2022 (555 yards) and Brandin Cooks in 2023 (657 yards). Both of whom are no longer on the Cowboys either.
The Cowboys chose to get rid of Cooper because they believed Michael Gallup might pan out for a nice career in Dallas. Over those two seasons Cooper was in Cleveland, Gallup had 73 catches, 842 yards, and 6 touchdowns. Cooper could have compiled those stats in half the time and after those two years, Gallup’s knee wasn’t good and was forced to retire. Granted, Gallup just returned to sign with the Washington Commanders, so choosing Gallup over Cooper also wasn’t the wise move.
To trade away one of your best players, despite the contract cost, you need a good return. The Cowboys had a void left from Cooper leaving while not getting much in return. If Jerry could do it over again, I would hope he would have kept Amari Cooper.
In hindsight, this was one of the worst trades in the Jerry Jones era. But the Cowboys will look to finally have a solid #2 option next to CeeDee Lamb with the trade acquisition for George Pickens, who enters Dallas on a one-year deal before potentially hitting free agency.
If Pickens elevates Lamb and this offense even further, maybe Jerry needs to value the receiving room more than he has in the past.
How do you feel about this Amari Cooper trade? Could Dallas have gotten more for Cooper? What’s a worst trade that comes to mind?