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We have reached the point in the NFL offseason where every minute is valuable. Time is of the essence, so to speak. There is a lot up in the air for the league as a whole this week as players are currently in the process of voting on the Collective Bargaining Agreement that team owners already approved. The deadline for this is Saturday night at 11:59pm ET.
Speaking of deadlines, Monday just before 12pm ET is when teams have to decide if they are going to place franchise tags on players or not. It is still unknown whether or not teams will have one or two tags available, a new CBA means only one whereas staying the course with the current CBA means two, and obviously this is big news for a Dallas Cowboys team that has multiple high-profile players set to enter free agency.
Talks with Amari Cooper are reportedly heating up
As this is the present case for the Cowboys, and all other 31 NFL teams, it would behoove them to get a deal done with Dak Prescott, Amari Cooper, and/or miraculously Byron Jones. The fewer players that the Cowboys have entering free agency the better as they may only have one franchise tag available.
If the Cowboys were to have only one tag at their disposal it would unquestionably go to quarterback Dak Prescott. This means that if the players were to approve the CBA and the Cowboys didn’t have long-term deals in place with either Dak Prescott or Amari Cooper (Byron Jones is assumed to be headed elsewhere) that whoever they did not tag would be on the open market.
Perhaps this is why things are starting to get going for the Cowboys and Amari Cooper. According to ESPN’s Ed Werder, talks are moving right along and a Cooper deal could actually become before a Prescott one.
My sense from speaking to #Cowboys sources: Team is working hard to reach agreement with WR Amari Cooper, and that Cooper and his agent seem motivated at the moment to get something done. To me, present indications are he could be signed before QB Dak Prescott.
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) March 10, 2020
This news dropped 10 minutes before the NFLPA announced its newest president - Cleveland Browns center CJ Tretter.
What does the President of the NFLPA have to do with the Dallas Cowboys and Amari Cooper? Again, what happens with the potential new CBA is of critical importance to the Cowboys and it is thought by some that Tretter filling that role could mean that the new CBA is in fact going to be approved by a majority of players.
This should be an indication that the NFLPA will approve the cba. Tretter was voted in over exective board member Michael Thomas who voted no on cba and who was back by executive board members Richard Sherman and Russell Okung, who also voted no on cba https://t.co/g4kJHxFUNb
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) March 10, 2020
It makes sense that the Cowboys, like all teams, were hip to this idea and therefore realized that with a new CBA in fact getting ready to take hold (hypothetically) that they needed to get a deal done with Dak Prescott and/or Amari Cooper by Monday’s new deadline to designate franchise tags.
Time is ticking.