Dallas Cowboys: Is there a decision to make regarding Amari Cooper?

The Dallas Cowboys season ended Sunday following the Giants defeat to the Eagles. Heading into the offseason, is there a decision to make on Amari Cooper?

The 8-8 Dallas Cowboys had a bad season. That is the only way you can describe it.

After coming out and looking like world-beaters through their first three games, it turns out that those games were just the aberrations and/or due to the fact that they were facing lackluster competition in those contests. The Cowboys could be deadly lethal at times, but they were far too volatile and inconsistent for the majority of the time.

With that, it is time to tie a bow around the 2019 season and begin to look to offseason business. While there will more than likely be a new man at the helm in 2020 for Dallas, the main pieces of the team may not be that much different. One of those core pieces should be Amari Cooper … or should it?

That is the question here. Heading into the offseason, where Cooper is surely expecting a payday, should he definitely be apart of the Dallas Cowboys’ future plans? While some may scoff at the notion, it is a real question based on his up and down play this season.

While the question is legit, the answer is no different from what we thought at the beginning of this season. He is here to stay … at least for right now. The Cowboys have to bring Cooper back, unless the number becomes too ridiculous.

His market value will probably put him in the $16-19 million annually range and that may be something that the Cowboys will reluctantly have to acquiesce too. With what you saw at times between Cooper and Dak Prescott, along with the 1-2-3 punch that he, Michael Gallup, and Randall Cobb have seemed to be, you can’t just let him walk.

The Dallas Cowboys must protect themselves from some of the things that he’s shown this season though. One way to describe it is the way that former Dallas Cowboys signal-caller and current Fox NFL analyst Troy Aikman did as he called Cooper a bit of a “fair-weather” guy, meaning that he performs well when the pressure is off or when the Cowboys are up, but when they need a big play, he doesn’t show up.

This could be in reference to moments like the crucial final play of Week 16’s game against Philly, where Cooper wasn’t even on the field for the Cowboys because he had already had an awful game up until that point. The Cowboys must find a way to get him his money but incentivized based on performance, games played, and other things of that nature.

The Dallas Cowboys will have to pay Amari Cooper, as there is no world where you can just let him walk. The Cowboys have to make sure that they protect their best interests as well though and there is a way that both the previous notions can be accomplished. Regardless and to answer the question though, there is no decision to make on Cooper. He must be kept in the fold.