The lawfirm of Cooper, Gallup, and Lamb will likely be dissolved in Dallas in the coming days. If that happens, as is widely expected, Cowboys fans will be left to always wonder what might have been for a trio of supremely talented receivers who combined for not nearly enough snaps in a high-potential offense that was fully operational for just a fraction of their time together.
Eleven games. That’s how many games Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb started together for the Cowboys with their franchise quarterback under center. Less than a season.
All indications are that’s all they’ll ever get.
According to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, a change is imminent. Reporting from Indianapolis, Gehlken wrote Thurday night: “the shared opinion from several sources at the NFL combine is it would be an upset if Cooper returns.”
NFL insider Adam Schefter reported the same in a tweet Friday morning.
Cowboys are “likely” to release WR Amari Copper by the start of the new league year, per league sources.
Cooper is due $20 million in fully guaranteed money on the fifth day of the new league year, March 20.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 4, 2022
Cooper’s $20 million salary becomes fully guaranteed if he’s still on the roster March 20 at 3 p.m. Dallas time.
Gallup is set to become a free agent March 16 and can begin talks with other clubs two days prior. Or the Cowboys can negotiate a new deal with him to retain his services. That seemed unlikely just a few months ago, as Gallup was seen as the one of the three most likely to be let go. But with eight games missed due to injury in 2021 and an offseason surgery that will have him rehabbing well into the summer and already iffy for opening day 2022, Gallup probably won’t attract the bidding war that was once anticipated.
Gallup’s injuries were just part of the series of unfortunate events that kept the Cowboys offense from realizing the full potential of their trio of pass-catchers over the two years they shared a locker room in Dallas.
The three started every game in 2020. They also started Week 1 this past season. But Gallup’s calf injury, suffered against Tampa on opening night, kept him out of the next seven contests. The week he was able to return to action, Cooper landed on the COVID list, forcing him out of Weeks 10 and 11. He was back in Week 12, but Lamb sat that one out while in concussion protocol.
It wasn’t until Week 13 at New Orleans that the threesome was once again on the field at the same time. It lasted just five more contests. During Week 17’s Arizona match, Gallup tore an ACL on a touchdown grab versus the Cardinals. He would miss the season finale and the wild card loss to San Francisco.
That’s 22 games started- not even finished- together. But wait… they were without quarterback Dak Prescott, the engine that makes the whole offense go, for 11 games in 2020 after his season-ending ankle injury. It’s hard to make the case that anybody could accurately gauge the Cooper-Gallup-Lamb unit with the likes of Andy Dalton, Ben DiNucci, and Garrett Gilbert throwing them the ball.
The Lawfirm should have gotten 33 regular-season games as a full three-piece with QB1. Instead, they got 11.
And now it seems practically a given that’s all they’ll get.
For what it’s worth, here’s a look at how each of them fared on a per-game basis, postseason included and using stats from Pro Football Reference, in the various starting-lineup configurations.
| Amari Cooper | Tgts | Recs | Yds |
| Full WR trio w/Dak (11 gms) | 9.45 | 6.45 | 69.63 |
| Full WR trio w/o Dak (11 gms) | 6.81 | 4.81 | 62.72 |
| Less than full WR trio (10 gms) | 6.50 | 4.20 | 58.70 |
Cooper’s numbers dipped without Prescott. That’s no surprise. What is a bit odd is that they dropped even further in games when he didn’t have both Gallup and Lamb demanding at least some of the opposing defense’s attention.
| Michael Gallup | Tgts | Recs | Yds |
| Full WR trio w/Dak (11 gms) | 6.09 | 3.54 | 51.36 |
| Full WR trio w/o Dak (11 gms) | 7.00 | 3.81 | 45.00 |
| Less than full WR trio (3 gms) | 7.66 | 4.33 | 64.00 |
Gallup perhaps gained a little more of the backups’ trust, as his stats stayed in the same neighborhood during Prescott’s absence. It’s a very small sample size, but things got better for him in the three-game stretch when he wasn’t competing with both Cooper and Lamb for looks.
| CeeDee Lamb | Tgts | Recs | Yds |
| Full WR trio w/Dak (11 gms) | 8.72 | 5.72 | 77.63 |
| Full WR trio w/o Dak (11 gms) | 6.45 | 4.09 | 45.63 |
| Less than full WR trio (11 gms) | 6.27 | 4.18 | 63.81 |
Lamb was at his best with the full complement of receivers around him and Prescott lobbing passes. But he suffered more from not having his quarterback than from missing one of his receiver teammates. That’s hopeful news for Cowboys fans as the team seems ready to part ways with one of them.
All indications are it will be Cooper wearing a new uniform in 2022.
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