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There is so much that goes on . . .
with teams that go into personnel decisions that the public and media aren’t often not aware of.
So much.
The conversations on the inside are often way different than those on the outside.
I can’t tell you how many times, when you talk to people inside the league, and they tell you something about a player, and you are like, “I had no freakin idea
that was going on.”
A perfect example of this Amari Cooper story in Dallas.
The wide receiver signed a a five-year, $100 million contract in 2020 and now they are ready to move on, and this will lead to people writing things like this on
NFL.com – “The issue with getting rid of Cooper is that it creates another massive hole in the Cowboys’ receiver room.”
Why would they do it, if they felt it was leaving a “massive hole in the Cowboys receiving room?”
Here is the deal. The word around the NFL is that Cooper doesn’t love football.
And this is a huge part of the insight teams have on players that can be lost on the public.
You would be surprised at how many guys in the league, past and present, don’t (didn’t) love football, but figure out a way to hang around by doing just enough
to keep teams interested.
The Cowboys are clearly looking for some team, to not do their due diligence, and trade for Cooper before they have to cut him on the fifth day of the league year
before his $20 million salary in 2022 becomes fully guaranteed.
Just like the Cowboys didn’t do their due diligence when they gave up a first-round pick to the Raiders to acquire him. Whatever you think of Jon Gruden, we all
know he loves offensive weapons, so why would he trade a first-round receiver early in his career? Because of the same issues Dallas encountered.
After Ian Rapoport’s recent announcement that the Cowboys are prepared to move on from Cooper, you will hear some say the Jets should trade for him to give
Zach Wilson another weapon.
Of course they shouldn’t. Because Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh are trying to load up their roster with guys who love football.
Loving football means you do everything in your power, morning to night, to get better, and then on Sunday you play with your hair on fire.
This sport isn’t for everything.
And a big part of the scouting process leading up the draft is not just finding very talented players, but finding players who love football, and aren’t just going
through the motions.
There were Jets players I covered over the years, who were clearly not in love with football, but managed to hang around, some due to their salaries. and others due to how high they were drafted. Some guys manage to con NFL decision-makers by doing just enough, making a big play here or there, putting in just enough work, to hang round.
You need to avoid players who don’t love football.
And I’m telling, there is so much information about players, behind the scenes, that we don’t know about, that go into decisions.
This isn’t fantasy football.
March 4, 2022
Premium will return on Monday at 9:30 pm
