The Philadelphia Eagles are going to sign Amari Cooper, aren’t they?

The Philadelphia Eagles, at least under the stewardship of Howie Roseman, are nothing if not consistent. They like to spend heavily in the trenches, hate spending big on linebackers, and will invest in the backup quarterback position even if it comes with a big price tag and occasionally alienates their highest-paid player.

Will the Eagles invest in their own player? Sure, the team has signed four of their own players – Avonte Maddox, Dallas Goedert, Jordan Mailata, and Josh Sweat – to new, long-term deals last year and will surely sign at least a few of their current players to new deals this year too. But when the Eagles want to invest in external players, they will often do so with proven vets on one-year deals or invest big money on players who are among the best performers at their respective positions.

They did it with Malcolm Jenkins in 2014, Rodney McLeod in 2016, Alshon Jeffery in 2017, and most recently Javon Hargrave in 2020, all of whom turned into pillars of the franchise for an extended period of time.

But if there’s one thing the Eagles like even more than landing top-flight talent, it’s adding former star players who have experience playing in the NFC East. They did it with DeMarco Murray/Miles Austin in 2015, Rueben Randle in 2016, and Ryan Kerrigan in 2020, and while none of those signings really worked out in Philly’s favor, they form a pattern of behavior that could extend into 2022 and beyond.

Fortunately for the Philadelphia Eagles, it looks like at least one Pro Bowler will find themselves on the open market looking to prove their former NFC East team wrong, and unlike with the aforementioned players, he still has some good football left in the tank.

Amari Cooper’s expected salary could decide the Philadelphia Eagles’ interest.

When asked about how the Dallas Cowboys will tackle their wealth of pending free agent wide receivers, Ian Rapoport let it be known that his sources have indicated that Jerry Jones and company could opt to move off of Amari Cooper, who signed a five-year, $100 million contract in 2020, to bring back Cedrick Wilson and Michael Gallup, who suffered a torn ACL back in Week 17.

That’s… okay.

On paper, the deal makes sense. While Cooper is still probably the Cowboys’ “best” wide receiver, his contract number is massive in 2022, and he was actually out-gained by CeeDee Lamb in 2021. Whether traded or outright released, moving on from Cooper would free up $16 million for the Cowboys in 2022 versus only $6 million in dead money, which is probably close to enough of a savings to bring back both Wilson and Gallup without having to invest too much more money off of the cap.

Is that the right call? Well, considering Gallup probably won’t play much in 2022, it’s certainly not the best choice short-term, but considering the Cowboys are currently more than $20 million over the cap, the idea of utilizing a talented collection of young receivers on value-conscious deals could make more sense than simply paying one receiver more than every other player combined.

So, assuming Cooper hits the open market, what sort of deal could he be looking for? Well, it’s probably safe to say it won’t be another nine-figure deal. While Cooper has surpassed 1,000 yards in each of his seven professional seasons, 2021 was sort of a down year for the pride of Alabama, as he only averaged his fewest yards, catches, yards per reception, and catch percentage of any of his three and a half seasons in a white jersey with teal pants.

With that being said, Spotrac still values Cooper’s production at $17.1 million, which feels about right given how much wide receivers like Julio Jones, Kenny Golladay, and Tyler Lockett made in 2021. Could he sign for less? Sure, this is a particularly good wide receiver free agent class, and someone is going to walk away with a little less money than they expected, but considering Cooper’s pedigree, he probably won’t be the one who draws the shortest straw, especially since the Philadelphia Eagles are in the market for a new, veteran receiver to pair up with DeVonta Smith and Quez Watkins.

Does Cooper fit the mold of what the Eagles are looking for on offense? In a word, yes. He’s got good size at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, had legit 4.4 speed, and can play top-level minutes at the X, Z, or flanker spot. While he didn’t play with Jalen Hurts at Alabama like Calvin Ridley, Cooper is a Crimson Tide OG who has surely interacted with both the Eagles’ QB1 and former first-round receiver during alumni events and on the sidelines in Tuscaloosa. He helped to elevate Derek Carr to the Pro Bowl in only his second professional season, kept him in the Pro Bowl during each of his three full seasons in Las Vegas, and developed a rapid connection with Dak Prescott that saw him catch more passes from the Mississippi State product than any other receiver over the last three and a half seasons.

I know Cooper isn’t exactly a popular name in South Philly, and some may prefer another player like Ridley, Mike Williams, or Penn State’s Allen Robinson, but securing the one-time Cowboy would still be a win over what the Eagles put on the field last season. Even if it takes some getting used to, something tells me after Cooper hauls in a touchdown versus the Cowboys, he’ll be as Philly as soft pretzels.

Could the Dallas Cowboys ultimately end up keeping Amari Cooper or trading him to a team like the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have more cap space than they know what to do with? Sure, anything is possible, but unless some team really likes Cooper enough to pay him $22 million in 2023 and 2024, that probably isn’t going to happen. No, Cooper feels destined to hit the free agent market in earnest for the first time in his professional career and will likely look to an NFC team like the Philadelphia Eagles to not only continue his Pro Bowl playing ways but prove to the Cowboys that they made a massive mistake.