Less than a week ago the Dallas Cowboys said it was too soon to address wide receiver Amari Cooper's future with the team.
That may not be the case now.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, citing unnamed league sources, the team is "likely" to release him by the start of the league year -- which is 3 p.m. CT, March 16.
If Cooper isn't released before March 20, he's due $20 million from the team, according to Schefter.
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The problem is that the Cowboys need cap room and they'd have to renegotiate Cooper's deal to keep him.
Cooper would still count about $6 million against the Cowboys' salary cap in 2022 but would assist Dallas’s front office in their efforts to re-sign other Cowboys players who are now free agents while the team continues to try to get under the cap.
According to NBC Sports, Cooper "had a $20 million base salary and a $22 million cap number and ranked tied for 39th in receptions (68), 34th in receiving yards (865) and tied for 37th in points among non-kickers (eight touchdowns) in the league.
Cooper has been considered Dallas’ top receiving threat since the Cowboys acquired him in a trade from the formerly Oakland Raiders in the middle of the 2018 season.
The former Alabama star Cooper was a first-round draft pick by the Raiders and had eight touchdown receptions for the Cowboys in the 2021 season.
