Free agency: Amari Cooper is a dream signing for the Tennessee Titans
By Will Lomas
Is Amari Cooper worth it?
The Dallas Cowboys’ offense is loaded, so Cooper saw a diminished role this season. Between Dak Prescott missing time, the rise of Lamb as the WR1, Dalton Schultz becoming one of the best safety blankets in the league, and the obligatory touches given to Ezekiel Elliott, Cooper ended the season with just 865 yards.
Cooper is still a very good receiver, but he is definitely a “buy-low” candidate at this point in his career. At 28 years old, a new contract would probably have to last for at least three years and it should hover somewhere between deals for low-end WR1s or high-end WR2s.
A great contract to look at would be the deal that Corey Davis signed this past offseason. He was two years younger than Cooper when he signed his deal, but the estimation should be the same. Look at their per game totals over the last two seasons:
Corey Davis: 4.3 receptions, 64.2 yards, 0.4 TDs
Amari Cooper: 5.2 receptions, 63.8 yards, 0.4 TDs
Looking at those numbers and factoring in his age, getting Cooper for a 3 year, $37.5 million deal ($12.5 million AAV) seems fair.
If the Titans needed to create enough space for that deal and the projected Harold Landry deal, they would need to be about $30 million above the cap. Assuming that cuts are guaranteed for Rodger Saffold, Brett Kern, Kendall Lamm, and Jackrabbit Jenkins and that a restructure of Zach Cunningham’s contract is coming, then they sit at $22 million in cap space.
To open the extra $8 million there are two big moves they could make.
First, they could cut or (more than likely) trade Taylor Lewan, which would open up $13 million more in cap space.
The other move they could make is by using a post-June 1st cut designation on Julio Jones which would push his bonuses to 2023 and open up $9.5 million in cap space for 2022.
Either move would give them the money they need, and there are in-house options to replace both.
If the Titans did make these moves, just how much would it impact the rest of their offseason?