National Football League

Should Dallas Cowboys regret trading Amari Cooper?

Updated Nov. 1, 2022 6:31 p.m. ET

The Dallas Cowboys are 6-2, but could they be even better had they kept their No. 1 wide receiver?

Dallas is coming off a bumpy NFL offseason, which saw it lose a handful of reputable starters. Among those starters is wide receiver Amari Cooper, who the Cowboys traded along with a sixth-round draft pick to the Cleveland Browns for a fifth- and sixth-rounder. The trade was presumably made so that the Cowboys had the cap room to re-sign receiver Michael Gallup (five-year, $62.5 million deal).

Dallas also released offensive tackle La'el Collins and lost receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. to the Miami Dolphins in free agency.

Cooper and the Browns pulled off an upset on Monday Night Football, throttling the rival Cincinnati Bengals 32-13. While he threw a head-scratching interception on a trick play, Cooper had a superb night catching the football. He finished the game with five receptions, 131 receiving yards and one touchdown.

On Tuesday's edition of "Undisputed," Shannon Sharpe analyzed Cooper's performance and how the Cowboys could still use a wideout of his caliber.

"We saw what Dak was before he got Amari. You are waiting for CeeDee [Lamb] to do for Dak [Prescott] what Amari did for Dak. Have you seen that? I have not. … Where are they ranked as far as wide receivers? Near the bottom? They weren't there when they had Amari. They were ranked very, very high.

"I believe in order for you to let CeeDee rise, you had to let Amari go into the sunset, but [Lamb is] not a better receiver. You saw [Cooper's] arsenal on full display [Monday] night."

Cooper has totaled 39 receptions, 553 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns this season. Cooper's production comes with backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett under center for the Browns given Deshaun Watson's 11-game suspension for sexual misconduct.

Across his three full seasons with the Cowboys (2019-21), Cooper averaged 79.7 receptions, 1,056 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns per season. Dallas acquired Cooper from the then-Oakland Raiders in the middle of the 2018 season, when he became an integral part of their passing game. He was their No. 1 receiver from 2018-2020.

The Cowboys' passing game has been spotty this season due to Prescott missing Weeks 2-6 with a thumb injury. While the Cowboys went 4-1 with Cooper Rush under center, the quarterback never threw for more than 235 yards in an individual game, with 25 points being the team's high mark over that span.

Lamb is the Cowboys' leading receiver this season with 42 receptions, 556 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. Noah Brown has tallied 25 receptions, 339 receiving yards and one receiving touchdowns, while Gallup — who missed the first three games of the season due to a knee injury — has totaled 12 receptions, 135 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.

On the other side of the table, Skip Bayless feels that the Cowboys are better off without Cooper, pointing to some of his low-lights from this season.

"Remember the Week 1 game when the Browns stole that game from Baker Mayfield and Carolina? Amari, he took that game over. He caught three balls for 17 yards," Bayless said sarcastically. "And then their big game at Atlanta, he caught one ball for nine yards. That's Amari. That's who I know. Then against New England, he caught four balls for 44 [yards]. And at Baltimore he caught three balls for 24 yards. And his catch rate is only 59%."

At 6-2, Dallas is in second place in the NFC East, two games behind the Philadelphia Eagles — who they lost to in Week 6 — for first. The Cowboys have a bye in Week 9, before hitting the road to take on the Green Bay Packers (3-5) in Week 10.