The Dallas Cowboys decided to make a bold move by trading wide receiver Amari Cooper in the offseason.
After two weeks it appears like that move is one that Jerry Jones would like to take back.
The Cowboys have struggled offensively through two games and part of it is because of their lack of wide receivers.
Dallas decided to trade Cooper but never did anything to replace him.
Their starting wide receivers in the first two weeks were CeeDee Lamb, Noah Brown, and Dennis Houston.
Losing quarterback Dak Prescott to a thumb injury does them no favors, but the wide receivers need to be improved.
After watching Cooper play with Jacoby Brissett this year it should be clear to the Cowboys’ GM that they made a mistake.
Amari Cooper in the last 2 games:
🟠 16 catches
🟠 202 yards
🟠 2 TDs
🟠 12 first down RECs pic.twitter.com/4FrTJ9iLjH— PFF (@PFF) September 23, 2022
The Dallas front office is more worried about the salary cap than winning games.
They got rid of Cooper because they thought they were paying him too much money.
But, elite wide receivers are tough to come by in this league and the Cowboys let one walk out the front door.
While Jones and company will never admit that letting Cooper go was a mistake, that is what it was.
Replacing Cooper
They tried to address wide receiver in the draft by selecting Jalen Tolbert in the third round.
But, Tolbert has yet to see the field for whatever reason, being a healthy scratch on game days.
The Cowboys’ offense looked much better in Week 2, but that was to be expected after an abysmal Week 1.
It will be interesting to see what the offense looks like once Prescott returns in a few weeks.
Also, Michael Gallup is expected to return from injury in Week 3 and that will help the receiving corps.
Lamb and Gallup can present a good one-two punch and then Dallas will need another young receiver to step up in the WR3 role.
It is rare to see a team that was ranked number in offense in 2021 let one of their top receiving options go the next year.
Especially when Cooper still has plenty of good football left in him.
Despite being in the league for eight seasons, Cooper is still only 28 years old.
Amari Cooper in his 9th quarter with the Cleveland Browns: 2 touchdowns
The Dallas Cowboys through 2 whole games this season: 2 touchdowns
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) September 23, 2022
Plus he already has five 1,000-yard receiving seasons under his belt.
The sad part for the Cowboys was that they got essentially nothing for the former first-round pick.
Dallas traded Cooper to Cleveland for a fifth-round pick when other top receivers around the league were being moved for first-round picks.
When the Cowboys acquired Cooper in 2018, they traded their first-round pick to get him.
So the lack of trade value for Cooper should have been enough for Dallas to hold onto him.
Yet, they got pennies on the dollar and let their pro-bowl receiver leave.
Having three quality wide receivers is a great way to have an elite offense.
Most defenses do not have three good cover players and that is what Dallas was able to exploit in 2021.
Trading Cooper was a mistake by Jerry Jones and he will need to find a quality replacement for him soon.
