Report: Amari Cooper Traded to Browns from Cowboys for 2022 5th-Round Pick, More

The Dallas Cowboys are trading wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

ESPN's Adam Schefter provided details. 

Josina Anderson of CBS Sports first reported that Dallas and Cleveland were working on a deal.

The 27-year-old still has three more years to run on the five-year, $100 million extension he signed with the Cowboys, but his long-term future in Dallas came under doubt in February. 

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported the team was planning to have Ezekiel Elliott back and wanted to retain free-agent-to-be Michael Gallup. That potentially left Cooper as the odd man out because of his sizable salary-cap hit ($22 million) for 2022.

In January, team owner Jerry Jones offered somewhat cryptic comments on the four-time Pro Bowler during a Jan. 22 appearance on 105.3 The Fan (via NFL.com's Adam Maya).

Jones said he "[didn't] have any comment on Cooper's contract" before appearing to lament the lack of impact Cooper made:

"I thought that the way we were playing early when we did make something happen, I thought Cooper had a big part of it. And I'm not being trite. But how he fits in, he should take half the field with him when he runs a route. Not half—half is an exaggeration, of course, but a whole bunch of that defense should have to honor Cooper. And he ought to be able to catch it in the middle of when they're going with him. Others do. You throw to people that are covered all the time in the NFL. You have to. Most people don't have the numbers of receivers we've had."

Despite Dak Prescott missing 11 games in 2020, Cooper managed to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards for the fifth time in his career. The quarterback's return to full-time duty in 2021 didn't coincide with a return to form, though.

In 15 games, Cooper caught 68 passes for 865 yards and eight touchdowns. CeeDee Lamb (79 receptions, 1,102 yards and six touchdowns) was the team's leading receiver, while Gallup had 35 catches for 445 yards and two touchdowns in nine appearances.

Cooper's contract provided little disincentive for Dallas to move on if it wanted to free up much needed cap space. By trading him now, the team saves $16 million and only carries $6 million in dead money.

There's no question his production from last season was a little underwhelming.

His 12.7 yards per reception were not a significant departure from his career average (13.7), but his 6.9 targets per game were more than one fewer target (8.1) than he averaged over his previous two-and-a-half years with Dallas. Over the course of a full season, those lost targets begin to add up.

Cooper vented in December that he thought the offense wasn't performing as it should and expressed how he thought he had a bigger role to play.

Reworking his deal was probably the optimal solution for the Cowboys, but that's a two-way street. Cooper may not have been all that enthused with the idea of taking a pay cut, and now his contract will roll over to Cleveland.

This move is largely a result of Jones handing out lucrative contracts without fully considering the long-term implications.

Jaylon Smith was jettisoned last fall two years after he got a big pay raise, and DeMarcus Lawrence was widely speculated to be a cap casualty. Elliott's future might be in more jeopardy as well if the financial penalty of releasing or trading him wasn't so severe.

In a vacuum, a $20 million average annual salary for Cooper isn't a significant overpay if he regresses to the norm a bit in 2022. For Dallas, though, the newfound flexibility it has might be better utilized elsewhere on the field.

For the Browns, acquiring Cooper should provide a big boost to their passing game. Beyond his proven track record, they might be banking on him carrying a big chip on his shoulder after getting cast aside by the Cowboys.