The Dallas Cowboys signed Amari Cooper to a massive contract extension this offseason, and Rex Ryan strongly believes the team made a mistake. With the sports calendar on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, Ryan apparently feels that now is as good a time as any to verbally destroy the star wide receiver.
During ESPN’s “Get Up!” on Friday morning, Ryan called Cooper the “biggest disappearing act in the National Football League” and said he would not have paid him $100 million over five years. Rex criticized Cooper for not playing well on the road or in big games and referred to him as a “turd.”
"[Amari Cooper] is the biggest disappearing act in the National Football League. … I wouldn't have paid this turd."
—Rex Ryan pic.twitter.com/A8gzRJqBnD
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 3, 2020
“This is who he is. He doesn’t love football, the hell with it,” Ryan said. “He stops his routes, he does all this. I wouldn’t have paid this turd. No way in hell would I have paid this guy. To me, you pay Dak Prescott … They’re number one in the league because of Dak Prescott, not because of this guy. It’s a deep draft at receiver. They made a huge mistake.”
The Cowboys acquired Cooper in a trade with the Oakland Raiders midway through the 2018 season, and Cooper gave the team’s offense an instant boost. While he did seem to disappear in a number of big games last season, he also played through significant injuries throughout the entire year. Cooper caught 79 passes for 1,189 yards and eight touchdowns in his first full season with the Cowboys last year, so the numbers are certainly nothing to scoff at.
There were rumblings that the Raiders felt Cooper had quit on them before they traded him, so that is likely what Ryan was referring to. Still, his criticism seemed over the top considering how banged up Cooper was in 2019.
