3 worst contracts on the Dallas Cowboys’ 2022 roster
By Randy Gurzi
This offseason, the Dallas Cowboys had to say goodbye to a couple of fan favorites due to their muddied salary cap situation. Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson will be playing elsewhere due to the cap restraints — and their lack of flexibility also cost them a shot at landing Von Miller in free agency as well.
It might seem hard at first to figure out how a team full of young talent that they drafted is so cap-strapped, but the answer to that comes down to a few bad contracts. Here are three of the worst, which have kept the front office from building an elite roster.
The 3 worst Dallas Cowboys’ contracts heading into 2022
3. Michael Gallup, WR
Wide receiver Michael Gallup was quite a find in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. The Colorado State product had recorded 2,902 yards and 15 touchdowns in his career. His best campaign came in 2019 when he had 66 receptions for 1,107 yards and six touchdowns — all of which are career highs.
Having said that, he’s also coming off a season full of injuries, including a torn ACL in January. Even so, the Cowboys’ front office elected to send Amari Cooper to Cleveland and sign Gallup to a five-year contract worth $62.5 million.
Michael Gallup’s ACL rehab continues today at Cowboys practice pic.twitter.com/5Anl9nsE35
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) June 9, 2022
Now, if Gallup turns out to be a superstar, this could be a steal. However, he’s been a solid No. 2 up until this point and at 26 years of age, he’s only two years younger than Cooper. It might have made more sense for Dallas to keep Cooper, who has had five seasons over 1,000 yards and isn’t coming off a serious injury, which is why this deal looks so bad. This amount of money on a guy returning from a major injury is a huge gamble. To pay him instead of a healthy star is a bit of an odd choice, especially without seeing Gallup return to play.