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

[Carson]

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

They obviously did not want to restructure nor keep Coop.

I wasn’t implying they could not keep him. It was obvious they did not want to keep him

 

[Stash]

Just so we all understand Adam's contract is 5/140 mil and Hill's contract extension is 4/120 mil.
Both contracts are way above Cooper's which had 3 yrs remaining at 20 million/year.

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

 

[thunderpimp91]

I actually think we are seeing (at least so far) that the contract is more important than the player.

Cooper got a 5th for the Browns to take on his contract
Claypool to this point in his career has been inferior to Cooper got a 2nd going back to PIT because he is still on his rookie deal through next season.
The contract is most likely the reason we haven't seen Brandin Cooks on the move yet.

The only way I think the Cooper deal really looks ridiculous is if the Cowboys turn around and grab another high dollar WR like Cooks. That would completely destroy the cap savings narrative.

 

[CT Dal Fan]

I still say something was going on with Cooper behind the scenes that nobody was aware of for Dallas to do what they did. The contract could have been restructured.

We can pick on the Jones' all we want but I don't think they rolled out of bed one morning and decided to get rid of their de facto number one receiver.

 

[DanA]

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

His contract had a 20m base salary with no guaranteed money left. This is the 14th highest salary for a WR and won’t be top 20 after this season. His contract is now well below market rates for a decent WR.

 

[thunderpimp91]

So the answer is NO then?

Chiefs get five draft picks (1st Round in 2022, 2nd Round in 2022, 4th Round in 2022, 4th Round in 2023, 6th Round in 2023).

The Raiders are sending their first two picks in the 2022 NFL Draft to the Packers in exchange for Davante Adams

Both of whom then got paid salaries that FAR EXCEEDED Amari Cooper’s contract.

So the Jones boys look like IDIOTS no matter how you slice it.

I'm not a fan of giving up that much draft capital for any WR, but we are comparing Cooper with maybe the best two WRs in the league....or at least that was the perception at the time of those deals.

 

[XXLMike]

I made this thread three hours ago, and apparently I struck a nerve with an oversensitive person here. Lol.

 

[JayFord]

How long are we going to mourn this?

 

[Stash]

I'm not a fan of giving up that much draft capital for any WR, but we are comparing Cooper with maybe the best two WRs in the league....or at least that was the perception at the time of those deals.

Cooper was in the conversation. You’re right that those are arguably the two best. But Cooper was top 10 and the return for him wasn’t in the same universe.

That’s the point.

 

[DanA]

I'm not a fan of giving up that much draft capital for any WR, but we are comparing Cooper with maybe the best two WRs in the league....or at least that was the perception at the time of those deals.

They are also now getting 30m per season while Cooper is getting 20m. I agree there’s a sizeable gap but we still got a bad deal.

 

[Verdict]

I actually think we are seeing (at least so far) that the contract is more important than the player.

Cooper got a 5th for the Browns to take on his contract
Claypool to this point in his career has been inferior to Cooper got a 2nd going back to PIT because he is still on his rookie deal through next season.
The contract is most likely the reason we haven't seen Brandin Cooks on the move yet.

The only way I think the Cooper deal really looks ridiculous is if the Cowboys turn around and grab another high dollar WR like Cooks. That would completely destroy the cap savings narrative.

I am sure contract was part of the Amari trade but I suspect they wanted Amari gone and we may never know why. But it’s pretty clear the team wanted Amari gone.

 

[Stash]

 

[Creeper]

So the answer is NO then?

Chiefs get five draft picks (1st Round in 2022, 2nd Round in 2022, 4th Round in 2022, 4th Round in 2023, 6th Round in 2023).

The Raiders are sending their first two picks in the 2022 NFL Draft to the Packers in exchange for Davante Adams

Both of whom then got paid salaries that FAR EXCEEDED Amari Cooper’s contract.

So the Jones boys look like IDIOTS no matter how you slice it.

Jerry could have said no.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

yes it does. Irony is we are 6-2 after 8 this year without him and were 6-2 with him.It's made no difference. Not what I expected.

 

[Stash]

Jerry could have said no.

Jerry told the world that he wanted to get rid of Cooper. Unlike the real GM’s who said nothing until the deals for Hill and Adams were done.

 

[thunderpimp91]

Cooper was in the conversation. You’re right that those are arguably the two best. But Cooper was top 10 and the return for him wasn’t in the same universe.

That’s the point.

Was Cooper ever actually in that conversation? I keep putting "top WR 2021" in my search bar and cant find anyone putting him in the top 10 conversation.

Hill, Adams, Jefferson, Dhop, Chase, Godwin, Evans, Brown, Diggs, Deebo, Kupp seem to be the names that pop up pretty consistently. Coop seems to be pretty overwhelmingly considered in that B tier of WRs that gets bunched in with guys like Moore, McLaurin, Lamb, Allen, etc.

And really so far this season Cooper is averaging 69 yards per game and everyone makes him a real #1 on this board.
Lamb also averages 69 yards per game this year and we talk as if we dont have a true #1

 

[Stash]

Was Cooper ever actually in that conversation? I keep putting "top WR 2021" in my search bar and cant find anyone putting him in the top 10 conversation.

Hill, Adams, Jefferson, Dhop, Chase, Godwin, Evans, Brown, Diggs, Deebo, Kupp seem to be the names that pop up pretty consistently. Coop seems to be pretty overwhelmingly considered in that B tier of WRs that gets bunched in with guys like Moore, McLaurin, Lamb, Allen, etc.

And really so far this season Cooper is averaging 69 yards per game and everyone makes him a real #1 on this board.
Lamb also averages 69 yards per game this year and we talk as if we dont have a true #1

Try typing in 2020 or 2019.

 

[thunderpimp91]

I am sure contract was part of the Amari trade but I suspect they wanted Amari gone and we may never know why. But it’s pretty clear the team wanted Amari gone.

No argument there. I think the Cowboys could have kept him if they really wanted to, but from a straight value perspective I dont think the results from this trade deadline make the Cooper deal look bad.

 

[Sydla]

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

The majority of his remaining contract were base salaries so they weren't on the hook to have to eat those cap hits. They could have restructured making the contract more workable, which surprise surprise, the Browns did. Sure, they have a $15 million dead money hit but they can cut him after this year if they wanted and still save $9 million.

So while his contract was not the most team friendly, it gave any team acquiring him some flexibility.

Conversely, AJ Brown was looking at a MASSIVE extension. So in essence you were taking him off the Titans hands (they didn't want to pay him and wanted something for him), and yet he commanded 1st round pick + and then Philly gave him a bigger contract than Cooper had that the Browns took on.

I don't necessarily disagree with trading Cooper. But they botched his value. They should have gotten more for him than what they did. *** NOTE - I am not saying they should have gotten what Brown got ***

 

[Sydla]

I'm not a fan of giving up that much draft capital for any WR, but we are comparing Cooper with maybe the best two WRs in the league....or at least that was the perception at the time of those deals.

I think his point is that while Cooper may not be in their class, he's likely in the tier below and the gap in what those teams got and what we got is astronomical.

Jerry botched the trade. It's OK to admit it. They painted themselves into a corner as teams knew that Jerry wanted him gone. They had no flexibility or negotiating foothold here. Jerry rarely wins trades.