Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys' Amari Cooper 'likely' to be released this month

Published Mar. 4, 2022 1:51 p.m. ET

The Dallas Cowboys are "likely" to release star wide receiver Amari Cooper later this month if a trade deal can't be reached, according to a report.

The move appears largely cap-related, as the Cowboys sit roughly $13 million over the projected salary cap.

When the Cowboys signed Cooper, 27, to a five-year, $100 million contract in 2020, they built an escape hatch into the deal beginning in 2022. If Dallas ends up parting ways with the veteran wideout, it erases $16 million from the salary cap — with only $6 million counting against the cap, instead of $22 million.

On Friday's "Undisputed," FOX Sports NFL Analyst Greg Jennings weighed in on the breaking news.

"I think it's gonna impact them a great deal," he said. "You're losing a great leader … your best route-runner, your biggest, No. 1 deep threat. I know everybody is excited about what CeeDee Lamb is providing, but all of what he's providing was given Amari Cooper as your No. 1. He didn't garner that attention as the No. 1 guy.

"So when you exclude Amari Cooper from the equation, that puts a lot more pressure on your young receiving corps. CeeDee Lamb being that No. 1 guy. Wearing that [No.] 88, he's gonna have those shoes to now fill."

Dallas Cowboys likely to release WR Amari Cooper

The Cowboys are expected to release Cooper prior to the start of the next season. Greg Jennings explains how that will impact Dallas on the field.

"Also, it puts pressure on Dak Prescott," Jennings added. "Dak Prescott has already showed some ability to taper off in the finale of the season. And you exclude an Amari Cooper? A guy who allowed you the freedom and the luxury to get separation and to start to have plays being made by your receiving corps when Dak Prescott was struggling — when he was not this $40 million-dollar man.

"You lose all of that. You lose that quiet, calm voice. When we talk about receivers being divas, this is a non-diva guy. A guy who just comes to work … when he's healthy, and he produces. Twenty-seven years old, he'll be 28 when the regular-season starts. He still has a lot of juice left, and I believe that the Dallas Cowboys will very much so miss Amari Cooper if he ends up being released."

Fellow receivers Michael Gallup, Cedrick Wilson, Noah Brown and Malik Turner are all slated to be free agents.

Cooper is coming off an 865-yard season, with 68 receptions and eight touchdowns in 15 games. He boasts 3,893 total receiving yards and 27 TDs in his four-year career with Dallas.

Here's how the sports world reacted to the news: