The Cowboys have taken L after L this week.
The Dallas Cowboys have endured some brutal stretches over the years, but the past couple of days have been especially grueling. It started with Sunday’s 47-9 loss to the Detroit Lions, which sparked speculation about head coach Mike McCarthy’s job security.
While Dak Prescott and others did their best to weather the storm, Jerry Jones swooped in on Tuesday and made things markedly worse. Faced with tough questions from 105.3 The Fan about the state of the team, Jones ducked accountability and threatened to replace the station’s hosts.
Perhaps Jones merely wants the Cowboys to remain a talking point during their bye week. That’s always a possibility with the money-driven owner, but there are plenty of happenings around the NFL doing the job for him.
Shortly after the Jets reunited Aaron Rodgers with star wide receiver Davante Adams, the Bills rescued former Cowboy Amari Cooper from the hapless Browns in a move that sent shockwaves around the league.
Cowboys take another loss on Amari Cooper after stunning Bills trade
Per reports, the Bills have acquired Cooper and a 2025 sixth-round pick for a 2025 third-round pick (!) and a 2026 seventh-rounder. That means the Browns got a much better return on trading Cooper than Dallas did.
After acquiring Cooper in 2018 for a first-round pick, the Cowboys agreed to send Cooper to Cleveland for a fifth-round pick and a sixth-round pick swap. Cooper eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards twice in three full seasons with Dallas and he tallied 856 yards and eight touchdowns in his final season in 2020 while playing banged up.
That Cooper is on an expiring contract and is three years older than when Dallas shipped him to Cleveland and the Browns were able to get more for him just solidifies the trade’s place as one of the worst in franchise history.
It has been speculated that Cooper had a falling out with Dallas’ front office, but Cooper’s $20 million salary was seemingly the premier motivator for the trade. While Cooper is up for a new deal, that salary now ranks 22nd amongst wide receivers.
The Cowboys instead chose to extend Michael Gallup, who had torn his ACL two months prior to signing the contract. While Dallas saved money paying Gallup over Cooper, it was an utter disaster on the field.
In two-plus seasons with Cleveland (38 games), Cooper accumulated 2,660 yards and 16 touchdowns. Gallup, meanwhile, was never the same player post-surgery. He caught 75 passes for 842 yards and six TDs in 2022 and ’23 before he was released in March with a post-June 1 designation.
In essence, the team that Cooper was the best on (the Cowboys) got the worst compensation between the Raiders and Browns. It is almost fitting that one of the most embarrassing days in recent franchise history culminated with Cooper getting dealt for less than what Dallas could get for him when he was younger and a more productive player.