The Dallas Cowboys were expected to lock up several members of their youthful core to long term deals in the past off-season. They got some accomplished, but others lingered into the 2019 season.

One assumption was that wide receiver Amari Cooper would be one of the easier contracts to complete as he wouldn’t “reset the market” as it were. It turns out the delay could be tied directly to his agent’s place of employment.

How much this stalled the negotiations is unclear.

Prior to the year, he wasn’t thought of as one of the elite wideouts in the league. Prior to the year.

It’s very much both possible and plausible Cooper has been prepared to play out the string all along, knowing his play would speak for itself in 2019, resulting in an even bigger payday. He wouldn’t be wrong.

Cooper has been effective ever since arriving in Dallas during last season’s bye week. And as good as he was last year, the connection between he and quarterback Dak Prescott is even better now. He’s on pace to set career highs in every major statistical category after pulling in 56 catches for 886 yards and seven touchdowns through 10 games despite dealing with nagging injuries since August.

At some point, Cooper will get the extension he’s earned. It would be bad business to let a player walk given the circumstances it took to acquire him and the performance he’s put out afterwards. Hopefully this news will allow the contract talks to resume to keep him in the fold for the foreseeable future.