The season-changing trade for Amari Cooper came after a head-shaking loss at Washington that seemed to seal the Dallas Cowboys’ fate.
“At that point, we were thinking we might not even be in the playoffs this year,” Cowboys’ vice president Stephen Jones said. Acquiring Cooper, Jones emphasized, wasn’t just about 2018. In fact, at that moment, it was all about the future.
“We were thinking: We’re already behind the 8-ball, long shot to get back in it,” Jones said. “This is really about long term. But we got back in it.