Did Amari Cooper just bail out the Dallas Cowboys?

After failing to secure a long-term deal with their quarterback prior to the start of free agency, the Dallas Cowboys have risked their offensive future.

For weeks, even months, the Dallas Cowboys front office has been in a position to secure the future of two Pro-Bowlers under the age of 26. With quarterback Dak Prescott and receiver Amari Cooper, along with running back Ezekiel Elliott, the Cowboys offense was set to be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. Not only did the Cowboys have youthful cornerstones, but they also had top-level talent at key positions.

Instead, on Monday morning, one was given the franchise tag and the other was free to play elsewhere. At one point, the Cowboys were in a position to play without either in 2020.

Make no mistake about it, the fact that we are even still having this discussion is a flat out embarrassment. Owner Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones should be ashamed of themselves. Getting a long term deal done for Prescott should have been a slam dunk.

For a little bit of reference, think of it like this. Here is the shortlist, courtesy of Pro Football Reference, of quarterbacks in the entire history of the NFL with 15,000+ yards passing, 95+ touchdowns, 40 or fewer interceptions with 40 or more wins by age 26.

Somehow, someway the Joneses felt the need to haggle over semantics instead of striking a deal. These negotiations should have solved themselves.

According to Calvin Watkins, The Dallas Cowboys wanted to lock in Prescott to a five-year deal. He wants a four-year deal. Here’s an easy solution … give him a four-year deal!

Just this past weekend, the Tennessee Titans re-signed their impending free-agent quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Tennessee gave Tannehill … wait for it … a four-year deal worth $118 million in total and $91 million guaranteed.

All of this needless haggling could have cost the Cowboys the chance at having one-third of their triplets moving forward. The emphasis being “could have” as thankfully Amari Cooper decided to return to Dallas. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Cooper is coming back.

Cooper certainly had other teams, namely the Washington Redskins, heavily interested in his services and rightfully so. Remember that list from earlier? Here is a list of all the receivers in NFL history with 5,000+ receiving yards, 30+ touchdowns and four or more Pro Bowl appearances at the age of 26.

Cooper could have gone elsewhere for more money. Agreeing to a return to Dallas turned what could have been a disaster into an inconvenience.

Hopefully, Dak Prescott and the Joneses can come together on a deal and this team can move forward towards their ultimate goal. Free agency has not even officially started yet but per usual, the Dallas Cowboys dominated the news day.