The Dallas Cowboys are reportedly planning life without Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Cowboys will most likely release Cooper before the new league year starts on March 16th.
Cooper’s release would come just two years after he inked a five-year, $100 million contract extension with the franchise that made him one of the highest-paid wideouts in the league.
As Schefter points out, Dallas has a strong financial motivation to make this move. If they keep Cooper on board, he would be guaranteed a $20 million salary while carrying a $22 million cap hit. By releasing him, the team would get his salary off the books and would only have to take a $6 million in dead cap.
The Cowboys might be willing to deal with the financial repercussions of keeping Cooper if it wasn’t for his poor performances last season. The 27-year-old finished the year with 68 catches for 865 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. This was only the second time in his career that he failed to clear 1,000 yards mark.
If Cooper gets shown the exit door, the Cowboys will turn to Pro Bowler CeeDee Lamb as their no. 1 wideout. After that, Michael Gallup should step into the no. 2 role under the condition that he agrees to a contract extension Dallas offered him earlier this week.
