The Dallas Cowboy traded in their expensive sports car for a more economical version when they shipped Amari Cooper to Cleveland and re-signed Michael Gallup.
Speaking Monday from the NFL's Annual League Meeting, owner Jerry Jones said that moving on from Cooper, who was due a $20 million salary this season, came after the Cowboys analyzed their roster.
"We made a decision that that allocation should be better spent," Jones said, via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.
Jones noted that the Cowboys analyzed their 10 highest-paid players and compared those to their impact on the field.
"We have to make sure that any one of those players are pulling as much weight as you can," he said. "… No. 2, you've got to be judicious how you add a top-10 paid player."
The comments are sure to be interesting to CeeDee Lamb's agent when it comes time for the former first-round pick to get paid.
Cooper generated back-to-back 1,100-plus yard seasons in his first two years in Dallas. The 27-year-old earned just 865 receiving yards on 68 catches with eights TDs in 2021.
The Cowboys, who traded a first-round pick to Oakland for Cooper in 2018, received a fifth-round pick and a late-round pick-swap in exchange for the four-time Pro Bowler. The return indicated not many teams were willing to take on Cooper's contract.
"We made every effort to do as well as we can do with the trade," Jones said.
As for Gallup, who is coming off an ACL tear, Jones noted it could be a stretch to expect the wideout to be full-force by Week 1.
"Optimistically, I expect him to give us a question mark around the first game," Jones said. "And I see a conversation that says conservatively, you would like to have a couple more games to get him out there."
