With each passing WR trade and free agent signing, the Amari Cooper trade becomes more absurd

_sturt_ said:

I'm beyond being critical now. The fan self-inflation as-if omniscient has become its own entertainment.

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_sturt_ said:

Fair answer. And actually, it was a 3rd, not a 4th that PHI gave up.

So what explains the difference in return in trade?

Is it, as has been suggested, that Stephen, Jerry and Will were simply not judicious/discerning/intelligent enough to realize they could have gotten more?

There appears to be no other options than that one.

So, if you (universal you, talking to all readers of this post) are content with that explanation, then this is where you probably should disengage and move on to another post... wish you well, and see you in another thread some time. Bye.












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Okay, now that those folks have moved on, here are a few thoughts for the rest... ie, those who aren't that prone to persuasion that the difference is explained by competence.

First, the thing that "cannot not" be dismissed is simply that us on the outside are never privy to conversations on the inside... no hidden cams or mics. We cannot know with any good faith and confidence what offers were on the table for Amari besides the Browns' offer. What we should be able to assume, at least those of us who believe in self-interest as a natural motivator, is that the Browns' offer was the best offer on the table at that time in March.

And related to that same idea.... we "cannot not" admit that we could have known who else might have been willing to make a better deal for Amari during draft week in late April, ie when the Eagles/Titans deal for Brown was made.

Second, was it that DAL FO accepted too little? Or, is the real story that the PHI FO was over-eager and paid too much? How does one make an objective assessment?

Obviously, the first go-to is to look at their 2022 stats so far. Incredibly similar. 39 catches each, 5 TDs each, AJ with about 100 more yards, though having played 7 games to Amari's 8 at this point. Regardless, both on track to have 1000 yards, and a season that will get strong Pro Bowl (or whatever we're playing this time) consideration.

Advantage: Eagles

Even if we say a 1st and a 3rd is a bit much (recalling that Amari only cost a 1st, and that the regard for both was within the same ballpark after 3 seasons)... it feels more right to say the greater miscalculation was to accept just a 5th rounder and a 6th round pick flip worth ~10 slots for Amari.

So is that to say then that the Cowboys' FO was just too headstrong, and if there wasn't a team willing to strike a better deal, they should have adapted and held on to Amari at least another month? Because that seems to be what that suggests.

No.

Here are things that get lost, and left out of the calculation... each is compelling on its own, but when you put them all together, they represent substantially compelling reason to make the March deal, and not wait to see if something better came along...

1. Their free agency pursuits were established, and freeing up some money was immediately important.

2. It's no secret that Amari's 2021 decisions that led to availability issues frustrated the owner, and he's not been bashful to say he believed his $20m players had to show a greater team-first attitude than the rest, that that comes with the territory. Right or wrong, the assessment had been made that Amari was the kind of receiver who gets stats but can't be relied upon at critical times.

And here's what really gets lost, in my estimation...

3. Amari's new team would control him for 3 seasons... ie, and importantly, his age 28, 29, and 30 seasons.

A.J.'s new team would control him for 5 seasons... ie, importantly, his age 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 seasons.


Thus, the scales of trade justice re-center significantly from where I sit.

- PHI was/is getting those age 25-27 prime years... that CLE was/is not.

- PHI was/is getting two seasons' worth of additional production that CLE is not.



Bottom line... it makes sense that PHI would pay appreciably more than DAL even if we just take #3 into account.

But when one also accounts for the context of #1 and #2... it eliminates the question of competence. It was a rational decision given all of the factors that came into play.

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Sydla said:

I think it's always the most obvious answer with this team.

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conner01 said:

It’s really simple
Fans don’t factor in contracts and that’s the biggest driver of comp in a trade behind talent

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_sturt_ said:

In this case, the AJ Brown comparable is about as good a comparable as you could imagine, NFL trades being as relatively rare as they are. Same position. Relatively the same kind of production historically, and relatively the same production even this season. Trade itself not complicated with other players/contracts and draft picks (re: Hopkins).


And it wasn't even really the salary as you do the deep dive... even their salaries are essentially the same.


In this case, it was that PHI's getting 3 of the most prime years of a player's career that CLE is not... and at that, two more seasons of control.

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Sydla said:

We aren't talking about one guy being 24 and the other being 36. WRs can play a high level into their 30s. So trying to suggest that the reason why Brown netted a 1st and 3rd and Cooper only got a 5th is because the Eagles get Brown at ages 24-26 and Cleveland gets Cooper at 28-30, that's quite a reach to explain a MASSIVE difference in return.

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Sydla said:

Again, just look at history of this front office for the last 10-20 years. They often lose trades. Either they give up too much or don't get enough.

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ChronicCowboy said:

Jerry made it completely transparent that we were getting rid of Cooper one way or another.

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Stash said:

They’ll willfully ignore those facts because it destroys their narrative.

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America's Cowboy said:

Wrong, bro. The Jones and coaching staff simply didn't want to keep Cooper. They had seen enough of him taking plays/games off for the amount of money they were paying him. It's really that simple. The Cowboys organization decided to cut bait and get what they could as long as the other team was willing to take on 100% of Amari's remaining contract.

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Stash said:

Wrong bro.

Jerry and Stephen may have been mad at Cooper. But that doesn’t speak for the “coaching staff” or anyone else.

And cutting Cooper’s salary was about Little Enos handing out bad contract after bad contract and screwing up the cap. Cooper wasn’t taking plays or games off. That’s a lousy excuse attempt.

The “simple” part is that the Jones boys couldn’t keep their mouths shut and cratered the players value.

Teams like Green Bay and Kansas City with actual GM’s knew enough to stay quiet and not destroy the value for theirs. But Jerry and Stephen never met a microphone they didn’t like.

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Zekeats said:

Not true. They coulda restructured his deal and let Gallup walk. Now whoever they sign or trade for plus Gallup will be more money than what it woulda cost to keep Coop

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Stash said:

The “simple” part is that the Jones boys couldn’t keep their mouths shut and cratered the players value.

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Carson said:

It literally does excuse it.

They had higher offers and would have to eat his cap. Taking his whole contract off the books means a lower pick. I don’t know why people don’t comprehend this

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