1. Dallas Cowboys’ surprise cuts – WR Amari Cooper
This cut would come as an absolute shock to Cowboys’ fans, who have envisioned Cooper as part of their new era Triplets alongside Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. Cooper had a solid year in 2021, catching 68 passes for 865 yards and eight touchdowns, but his production was notably down from each of the previous two years.
It is worth mentioning that Cooper missed two games after testing positive for COVID-19 but his performance wasn’t noticeably impacted upon returning to the lineup. Cooper clearly ceded his status as Prescott’s preferred target to CeeDee Lamb, who is younger and still ascending into his prime.
There have already been rumors that Dallas is shopping Cooper in hopes of making a trade prior to the start of the new league year and his cap figure is a big reason why. Trading Cooper would free $16 million from the Cowboys’ salary cap obligations and potentially net a draft pick they can use to add another playmaker on offense that is more cost-effective.
The fact that Michael Gallup is also a free agent puts more urgency on the Cooper decision. If Dallas is unable to find a trade partner who wants to part with a pick to land Cooper they could cut the 27-year old to get under the cap.