Should Kansas City Chiefs trade for Amari Cooper or wait until he’s released?

It does not seem that Cooper is for long with America’s Team. With the amount of cap relief the Cowboys could get by releasing him, Dallas will probably part ways with Cooper before the start of new league year. While freeing up $16 million of cap space is nice, Dallas may want to see if there is any potential trade market before releasing the wide receiver ahead of NFL free agency.

Though he would fit in well as a new member of the Chiefs receiving corps, here is why Kansas City needs to be patient and wait for Dallas to release Cooper first instead of trading for him.

Kansas City Chiefs should wait for Dallas Cowboys to release Amari Cooper

There are several reasons why trading for Cooper is a terrible idea for the Chiefs. The first is they do not have the cap space to make a trade of this nature right now. While Brett Veach is a wizard with the numbers, only $11.5 million in available space is not enough to cover trading for Cooper. Not only that, but the Chiefs would have to give up something to pry him away from the Cowboys.

Outside of finances and future NFL Draft compensation, the Chiefs must look at this from a macro level. Why would they want to help the Cowboys out? Dallas should be one of the better teams in the NFC next year, meaning they could theoretically face the Chiefs in Super Bowl 57 in Glendale. Imagine if that pick helps America’s Team win it all, while Cooper underwhelms with Kansas City.

Yes, if Cooper is released it means the Chiefs will be competing with 30 other NFL franchises for his services. Though not all will want to take part in adding him, but enough interest should have him garner close to amount of compensation he would have made from Dallas if he were not in cap casualty considerations. The Chiefs may miss out on him in free agency, but they will be fine.

Kansas City may covet a wide receiver, but there is no reason to trade for Cooper at this juncture.