Cowboys Rumors: Latest Buzz on Amari Cooper, Byron Jones, More

While a majority of the Dallas Cowboys' offseason focus is on the Dak Prescott negotiations, there are other aspects of the roster that the team has to take into account.

Keeping wide receiver Amari Cooper is one of the other priorities for the NFC East side, and if that does not happen, the Cowboys could make a run at keeping Byron Jones in the defensive backfield.

Dallas could also be in the market for players who were not on its roster for the 2019 campaign. Defensive back Chris Harris is one of those who has been linked with the Cowboys as free agency approaches Wednesday.

Latest Cowboys Buzz

Amari Cooper

Roger Steinman/Associated Press

According to ESPN's Ed Werder, the Cowboys are "working hard to reach agreement" with Cooper.

Werder also indicated a deal for the wide receiver could happen before Prescott's contract situation is figured out.

Retaining Cooper would be a huge boost to the offense, especially if the quarterback returns for the 2020 campaign or beyond.

The 25-year-old caught 79 balls for 1,189 yards and eight touchdowns in 2019. He was one of two 1,000-yard receivers along with Michael Gallup, and Randall Cobb's production gave the Cowboys three players with more than 800 receiving yards.

Dallas already spent a first-round pick on Cooper to obtain his services in a trade with the then-Oakland Raiders and paid him $13,924,000 during the 2019 campaign.

The Cowboys have reaped plenty of offensive rewards for their financial commitment, and if the Alabama product returns, they could build something special on the offensive side of the ball.

Combining Cooper, Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, as well as a strong supporting cast, could propel the Cowboys to the top of the NFC East under new head coach Mike McCarthy.

If anything, re-signing Cooper would give Dallas a head start on the Philadelphia Eagles, who dealt with countless wide receiver issues in 2019.

Byron Jones

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Jones could be harder to lock down in the long term due to his reported contract demands.

According to Yahoo's Charles Robinson, the market for the 27-year-old "starts at $16-$17 million per season." In 2019, he made $6,266,000 in base salary, which was an upgrade of just under $5 million from the 2018 season.

Upon first glance, Jones' interception numbers are not ideal for a player who has been in the league for five seasons. He has two career picks, with the last one coming in 2017, but he has been a valuable asset in other facets of the game.

Jones has at least 60 tackles in four seasons and has appeared in 79 of 80 possible regular-season contests. He has proved to be extremely durable and reliable in coverage, which is partly why the market is reportedly set so high for him.

The Cowboys do have $68.5 million in cap space, but a good chunk of that will go to Prescott and Cooper, if both decide to stay in Texas.

Depending on the contracts, Dallas might be able to squeeze in a deal for Jones, but that would also leave them dry in an attempt to bolster depth.

If the numbers are too high from the Cowboys' perspective, they might have to move past re-signing Jones along with their two offensive stars.

Chris Harris

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

According to Troy Renck of Denver7 Sports, Chris Harris is "moving forward as if the Broncos will not make an offer before Monday." That has led to a slew of interest from across the league, including the Cowboys, who are one of 10 teams mentioned in the report.

The 30-year-old made $9.8 million during the 2019 campaign with the Broncos, so if the Cowboys are seriously interested, they may have to pay a hefty price to acquire him.

Before 2019, Harris had a streak of seven consecutive seasons with multiple interceptions, and he had four years with over 10 passes defended in that stretch.

Because the market appears to be competitive for the Kansas product, the Cowboys may have to pay a large sum to bring him in.

Depending on what the offers are for Harris, he could still be cheaper than Jones since he is three years older.

If that is not the case, the Cowboys may be forced to spend big to bolster the secondary, and how much cap space they use could be determined by the structure of Cooper and Prescott's deals.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference. Contract information obtained from Spotrac.