Conflicting reports emerge on Cooper Kupp and the Dallas Cowboys, but a closer look makes it clear what’s really going on
Friday got off to a hot start in the Dallas Cowboys world when ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the team was a "sleeper team" making a push for former Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp. Per Schefter, the Cowboys "are working on (a deal) with Kupp." The NFL insider's phrasing made it seem at first sight […]
Friday got off to a hot start in the Dallas Cowboys world when ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the team was a "sleeper team" making a push for former Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp.
Per Schefter, the Cowboys "are working on (a deal) with Kupp." The NFL insider's phrasing made it seem at first sight like Dallas was close to making it happen but he later clarified they were not considered the favorite landing spot for him.
Since the reporting, several Cowboys insiders including Clarence Hill Jr., Calvin Watkins, and David Moore reported Dallas was in fact not in the mix for Kupp. NFL Network's Jane Slater reported the same even before Schefter's report.
So what do these conflicting reports mean? Are the Cowboys in on Kupp or not?
Let's keep it real: Cowboys fans know how it goes every time the team is linked to a big-name free agent NFL teams are fighting over. Most of the time, it ends with the Jerry Jones-led front office shrugging its shoulders and claiming the price was too high for them.
They just don't get into bidding wars. Per Dianna Russini from The Athletic, "some suitors have not been willing to offer Kupp a $13-14 million contract." That implies the wide receiver is seeking a number over $10 million per year mark. You'd have to go back to 2015 to find an example of the Cowboys spending over $6 million in an outside free agent acquisition.
Are they going to break that rule for a declining wide receiver that will be 32 years old when the season starts? Kupp hasn't played a full season since his iconic 2021 season when he went for 1,947 receiving yards. I'm sure he makes sense for a team trying to squeeze the last football he's got in him but I don't see Dallas changing its ways for him.
What is this really about, then? Here's my theory: The Cowboys always seem to come up in conversations about big-name free agents every year. Obviously, negotiating through the media is a very common practice in the NFL and players benefit from having multiple teams pursuing them.
In other words, it fees like every time Dallas comes up in these conversations it's nothing but an effort to bump the price for the team that really wants to sign the guy. In this case, that might be the Seattle Seahawks, who have been expected to be among the likeliest landing spots for Kupp. The receiver gets more money, the Cowboys get to tell the fans "Hey, we tried, didn't we?"
