Inside The Star
Amari Cooper will be a part of the Dallas Cowboys for the 2025 season.
The Dallas Cowboys need a wide receiver to help CeeDee Lamb, and Amari Cooper is a good fit, even if he is getting older.
Several teams around the NFL have had the chance to sign Amari Cooper, but have not done so. There could be reasons behind this, but Cooper can still produce if put in the right situation.
The perfect situation may be returning to Dallas, where he will not be considered the number one receiver.
He has had up-and-down seasons since being traded from the Dallas Cowboys to the Cleveland Browns in 2022.
The rollercoaster-type seasons could involve quarterback play and not being comfortable with the system.
In 2022, his first season in Cleveland, Amari Cooper had over 1,100 yards receiving and nine touchdowns.
He followed that up with over 1,200 yards and five touchdowns in 2023.
Cooper was traded to the Buffalo Bills mid-season from the Cleveland Browns in 2024. He would end the season with 547 yards and four touchdowns.
The 2024 season may be an outlier because he received 75 fewer targets than his career average of 119. He ended the season with 44 targets.
Injuries played a part, and being traded mid-season would make learning a new offensive system challenging.
Amari Cooper would work in Dallas because he is used to playing in the city. He knows the pressure of being a Cowboy and how to handle the constant publicity.
He also knows how to play lined up with CeeDee Lamb because he did it for two years in 2021 and 2022.
Cooper was the de facto number one receiver in those seasons, but Lamb started to take over that title in 2022.
Cooper has gotten to that age, and free agency is showing it. He may not be a number one receiver anymore, but he would make a great number two.
An entire offseason in Dallas with a new coaching staff and a healthy Dak Prescott could produce a good one-two punch for the Cowboys’ offense.
Last season, CeeDee Lamb had 152 targets because none of the other receivers could get open. Jalen Tolbert was the next wide receiver in line with 79 targets.
Having Cooper in the mix would alleviate some of the pressure on Lamb. If Cooper could get around 90 targets, and a rookie receiver got some targets, it would even out the offense.
If 90 targets could happen, and he could keep his 12.4-yard average, it would get him over 1,100 receiving yards.
Having two 1,000-yard receivers would be a major benefit to this offense, who also want to get the run game going. Cooper is also a good run blocker, which would help.
It may be hard to project a contract for Amari Cooper, especially after the Stefon Diggs contract.
Diggs signed with the New England Patriots and...
