There had to have been myriad factors that contributed to the Dallas Cowboys’ desire to part ways with Amari Cooper. Among them, apparently, was how he approached the COVID-19 vaccine.
Cooper was outed as being unvaccinated last season when he missed two games, both of which resulted in losses, due to a positive test for the coronavirus. Now, the Cowboys reportedly plan to release Cooper when the new league year begins.
The rules for vaccinated versus unvaccinated players last season were markedly different, so not getting the jab did create risks for teams from a pure football standpoint. And in reacting to the news Friday on the “Rich Eisen Show,” Eisen hinted that Cooper’s vaccination status might have rubbed some folks, including perhaps most importantly the Jones’, the wrong way.
“The fact that he was one of their few unvaccinated players still on the team last year I think really rankled the Jones',” Eisen said. “It’s interesting, the COVID protocols (Thursday) were shelved, but still what will linger is somebody at a time when all they had to do was take a shot and that would give them a better chance to win and they did not is something I think will linger in the mind’s eye of front offices and ownership. And I think you put it all together, and that’s one of the reasons why Cooper will be on another team.”
As Eisen alludes to, those COVID-19 protocols basically have been done away with. He also pointed out that the Cowboys already have a ton of money tied up in Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, and big paydays could be coming for Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb. Eventually, someone was going to be the odd man out.
That he put his team at a competitive disadvantage at one point last season appears to have helped drive the nail into Cooper’s coffin in Dallas.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram