The Cowboys have made their bed, it’s uncomfortable, and now they have to lie in it.
Amari Cooper will no longer wear the famous blue star on his helmet, who was traded to the Browns on Saturday afternoon. And while stars like Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Zack Martin are still Cowboys, it’s fair to question whether Dallas can survive without every possible great playmaker at their disposal. At least, if they’re following any higher ambitions.
According to Tipico Sportsbook, the Cowboys have +1200 odds to win Super Bowl 57 next February. That places them in a favorable but somewhat longshot eighth (behind the Bengals, 49ers, Broncos, Rams, Packers, Chiefs, and Bills). On a slightly smaller scale, they have the fourth-best odds to win the NFC at +650. Also, quite acceptable! You might be wondering what the catch is. There has to be a but.
I’ll tell you: These projections were before Dallas traded Cooper to save $20 million in cap space. Those odds are sure to drop off before the chaos of free agent starts, leaving the Cowboys and a still-talented core in a precarious place. $20 million is a lot of dough for one person, but it’s not enough to build out a receiving corps, in addition to the holes of a flawed roster.
In all likelihood, Mike McCarthy’s Cowboys will win the NFC East again. They’ll win 11-12 games and capture the No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the NFC. Some will probably label them a dark horse to win the whole dance. They’ll lean on Prescott and, in an expanded role, lean on Lamb — who has 154 receptions and 11 touchdowns in two NFL seasons.
CeeDee Lamb AGAIN! #DallasCowboys
📺: #ATLvsDAL on FOX
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/HWXBO9sb6H— NFL (@NFL) November 14, 2021
But one top receiving option isn’t enough in the NFL anymore. The top contenders, the heavyweights that the Cowboys want to overcome, like the Rams and 49ers, have multiple options. When the defense eliminates one guy, someone else steps up and makes the play. Rinse and repeat.
Without Cooper and even fellow pending free agent Michael Gallup, Dallas is a heck of a lot more one-dimensional and probably in need of more of a full-scale retool than close to any championship contention. That’s a shame, considering that the 2022 version of the 28-year-old Prescott should project to be one of the best of his career. Instead, they might waste such a brilliant campaign.
Losing a Pro Bowler like Cooper won’t hurt the Cowboys’ overall regular-season trajectory much. But Dallas doesn’t — or at least they shouldn’t — care much about the first four months of the year. They’re past the point of hanging banners for winning a lackluster division then bowing out with a whimper.
Losing Cooper will hurt the Cowboys’ immediate chances for a championship. They know it. That’s all anything anyone in Arlington has cared about for years.
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