Amari Cooper would be superb addition to Arizona Cardinals

The Dallas Cowboys free agent wide receiver would be an outstanding acquisition for the front office of the Arizona Cardinals

Back on January 15th, legendary wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald relayed some outstanding news to the Arizona Cardinals faithful. The future Hall of Famer has decided to return for a 17th campaign, but the imminent retirement of the 36-year old still needs to be addressed. At the moment, there does not appear to be an individual on the Cards roster who’s worthy of replacing Fitzgerald as the club’s number-one wideout.

There’s a pass-catcher headed for free agency, however, who’s more than capable of filling that role for Arizona. Amari Cooper, a former Oakland Raider who has been with the Dallas Cowboys for the past one and a half seasons, would make an excellent heir apparent for the aging Fitzgerald. Outbidding Dallas owner Jerry Jones for the 25-year old’s services will be a bit tricky, but it’s by no means an impossible task for the Cardinals front office.

According to Spotrac.com, the Cowboys have roughly $73 million in salary-cap space at their disposal for next season. While that certainly is a generous amount of cash to play with, Jones also has some other fish to fry. Significant pieces to the Dallas puzzle that will not be coming back to the organization cheaply.

The biggest contract issue that the Cowboys will need to deal with centers around quarterback Dak Prescott. It’s been reported that the 26-year old signal-caller and his agent turned down an offer that would’ve paid him an eye-popping $33 million annually. Rest assured that whatever number the two sides do eventually agree on will take a huge chunk out of the team’s salary-cap allotment.

Another Cowboy that will likely command considerable money in 2020 is cornerback Byron Jones. Other vital components on the defensive side of the ball who have expiring contracts include defensive end Robert Quinn, safety Jeff Heath and defensive tackle Maliek Collins. Dallas may also want to re-sign Randall Cobb, a veteran wideout who tallied 55 catches, 828 receiving yards and three touchdowns during the 2019 campaign.

The Cards have an extremely young receiving corps at the present time that will look a lot less formidable when Fitzgerald finally retires. Christian Kirk is the best of the bunch, but the squad’s second-round selection in 2018 appears to be much better suited for a complimentary wide receiver role. A gifted weapon like Cooper would easily become quarterback Kyler Murray‘s go-to guy when Fitzgerald eventually decides to call it quits.

In 16 appearances in ’19, Cooper hauled in 79 passes for 1,189 yards and eight scores for the Cowboys offense. It should be pointed out that the 6’1, 225 pounder played through heel, ankle, knee and quadriceps injuries throughout most of the season. That kind of toughness would be welcomed with open arms inside the Arizona locker room.

Landing a talent like Cooper would be a great feather in the cap of the Cardinals. Having the four-time Pro Bowler on the field with Fitzgerald, even for one year, would be a fantastic pairing for the scoring attack. Whether general manager Steve Keim sees it the same way is a question that will need to be answered when the free agent spending spree gets underway next month.