Browns restructuring Amari Cooper’s contract proves trade was never about money
By Jerry Trotta
For the first time all offseason, Dallas Cowboys fans entered the weekend on a positive note. Of course, this newfound optimism stems from the fact the front office ended their drought of being the last to sign an outside free agent.
Not only was the curse lifted, but it came in the form of two intriguing additions in wideout James Washington, who projects as a high-upside No. 3 receiver, and Dante Fowler, who, while having struggled with consistency and injuries in his career, could be revived after reuniting with former DC Dan Quinn.
As we’ve seen with the Cowboys this offseason, though, good new has largely been followed by seismic letdowns.
Look no further than DeMarcus Lawrence’s extension. After it looked like the cap savings produced from that maneuver would be used on re-signing Randy Gregory, the coveted edge rusher spurned Dallas for Denver at the eleventh hour.
So, what could possibly dampen Cowboys fans’ mood after the Washington and Fowler signings? We’re glad you asked. How about the Browns already restructuring Amari Cooper’s contract to save $15 million in cap space?
The #Browns restructured WR Amari Cooper’s contract, converting most of his $20 million base salary into a signing bonus, adding two void years and saving over $15M on the 2022 salary cap.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 19, 2022
Former Cowboys WR Amari Cooper already agreed to restructure his contract with the Browns.
It seems like it took the Browns all of a week to realize restructuring Cooper’s contract was in their best interest. The question isn’t why the Cowboys didn’t exercise this loophole. It’s why they didn’t want to move forward with Cooper.
That, of course, assumes they were aware of the cap savings that would come by restructuring his deal.
The Cowboys’ front office is as dysfunctional and stubborn as they come, but we like to think they knew converting Cooper’s base salary into a signing bonus would help save $15 million, just $1 million less than what they saved by trading him.
It all proves the Cowboys’ handling of Cooper’s future was never about money. For whatever reason, they had no intention of keeping him. Was it about his vaccination status? His comments about wanting more targets, which is more of a Kellen Moore problem than anything else? The fact he played banged up often?
There’s always a way to make it work, provided you want to move forward with a guy.
— David Helman (@davidhelman_) March 19, 2022
The Cowboys moving everyone else’s money around, but never Amari’s, was a pretty clear signal. https://t.co/She2UJmGqR
Was the Cooper-Prescott relationship not what everyone made it out to be? Does the front office actually think Michael Gallup was the safer long-term investment? If so, we have much bigger problems to worry about, but it didn’t seem like Cooper wanted out, so what gives?
We’ll likely never know what seemingly forced Dallas’ hand. Thanks to the Browns, though, we know the decision to get rid of the four-time Pro Bowler had nothing to do with money, so don’t expect the speculation to subside anytime soon.
