The Dallas Cowboys have been pretty aggressive when it comes to trading over the last several seasons. For decades, Dallas was one of the least-active teams in the trade market, but that has since turned around in the previous seven to 10 years.
One of their biggest moves in recent memory was trading their 2019 first-round pick for Amari Cooper, which instantly turned their 2018 season around. The Cowboys looked lost at 3-4 to open the year, but the Cooper trade solved their No. 1 wide receiver issue, and they made it back to the postseason after a fantastic finish to the year.
The trade to acquire Cooper was highly successful for Dallas as he was the team’s No. 1 receiver from 2018 to 2021, averaging nearly 70 yards per game during that stretch. But after selecting CeeDee Lamb in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Cowboys wanted to make him their No. 1 receiver and made the decision to move on from Cooper during the 2022 offseason.
It was already a controversial decision to trade Cooper in 2022, but after a season in which he totaled just 865 yards in 15 games, the Cowboys were ready to move on. But what they got in exchange for Cooper will live in infamy.
In a recent article by Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report, he wrote about every team’s worst trade over the last decade. For the Cowboys, that was none other than trading Cooper to the Browns for a future fifth-round pick.
Trading Amari Cooper is one of the worst moves the Cowboys have ever made
Here is a snippet of why Knox believes that was one of the worst trades in franchise history:
"In exchange for the four-time Pro Bowler, Dallas received a fifth-round pick from Cleveland, along with a sixth-round pick swap. It then spent the next three seasons scrambling to find a reliable No. 2 receiver, eventually trading a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round selection for George Pickens. Cooper went on to record 2,660 yards and 16 yards in 38 games for the Browns. He again made the Pro Bowl in 2023 and netted Cleveland a third-round pick when he was dealt last year."
Kristopher Knox, Bleacher Report
The Browns were able to get multiple years of cheap production out of Cooper and still managed to get more from him in a trade during the 2024 season. That’s how you know how horrific a deal this was for the Cowboys and everyone knew it in real time.
It was understandable for the Cowboys to see CeeDee Lamb and want to make him the featured receiver in the offense.
But to only get a fifth-round pick out of a 28-year-old Amari Cooper is laughable. Dallas has had its fair share of wins in the trade market, including the acquisition of Cooper. But trading him away for peanuts is a move they would love to forget.