Jerry Jones finally broke his silence this week. Having initially avoided the media following the gut-wrenching 20-17 loss to the Washington Redskins in Week 7 and then canceling his weekly Monday radio interview, the tone of his silence carrying an air of coming change. And so it was change arrived in the form of a blockbuster trade, the Dallas Cowboys sending their 2019 first-round pick to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for former fourth-overall pick Amari Cooper, a two-time pro bowl wideout who's only 24-years-old and now instantly the best on the Cowboys' roster. Speaking with 105.3FM the Fan's G Bag Nation on Friday heading into the bye week, Jones spoke on his first impressions of Cooper and a whole lot more. "He's certainly as advertised, in terms of his conscientiousness, his work ethic and his unique skills," the Hall of Fame owner said. "As a kid, I was on the freshman team with [former Cowboys wide receiver] Lance Alworth, which is a name from the past -- he's been voted [No. 1 or No. 2] best receiver in [NFL history] -- and [he] was just poetry when he ran. He was just so smooth as he could be and, of course, he was also blazing fast. "...You could get in trouble comparing but as [former Cowboys' head coach] Barry Switzer once said, 'The way I evaluate players is by comparing them to the great ones I've been around." Alworth is both a collegiate and pro football Hall of Famer, for what it's worth. Jones then went on to explain the intricacies of how it all went down with the Raiders and, of course, there were a lot of moving pieces. "We went over short- and long-term aspects, and every ramification," he said. "And then we proceeded to get with our evaluation and scouting department. We visited with Jack Del Rio, who was the coach when the [Raiders] drafted him. It was a lot of involvement and evaluation. "...It's not like deciding you're going to go buy groceries and go down the aisle just pick up the ones you want. Everything has to fall in place. It's always been that way in the case of an NFL trade. It takes the right team. It takes the right player. It takes the right circumstance." The circumstances for a move on Cooper couldn't be more perfect for a Cowboys' offense currently ranked fourth-worst both overall and in the passing attack. The lone star has been veteran Cole Beasley and while rookie Michael Gallup is beginning to come on strong the last two weeks, he's not been a factor prior to Week 6 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The immediate and justifiable thought is Cooper changes everything going forward, but it didn't take Jones having to see the outcome of the Redskins' fight for him to make a decision on pulling the trade trigger. That explains why he had nothing to say after the game. It had already been in the works. "Well, we were busy on this trade," Jones made clear. "We were busy working on the details of communication with the trade. We were actually discussing logistics there Sunday night while the team was in the dressing room. ...From the standpoint of visiting with media, frankly, I had several things on my mind and I didn't want to hem and haw about it. "You know, I can't keep a secret. So the bottom line is, I thought it was best to move on." In case you were still wondering, there's a reason -- or several -- Jones was willing to give up a first-round pick for Cooper. "We value that first pick and we always have," he said. "We've had some outstanding first-round picks, like Troy Aikman, for example. Like DeMarcus Ware, for example. ...The bottom line is we do value that first-round pick. "Make no mistake about it, that's where all of the consternation was about this move, was about that first-round pick. Then again, we thought that if we had the opportunity, it's like that an outstanding receiver were there -- that would be the pick. His youth had everything to do with it, and then the caliber of player that he was. ...Man, you can miss and miss good on any position, but certainly at the skill positions at the top of these drafts. "We knew we had an opportunity here to get a player that, frankly, is proven and has some real youth involved when you look at him long-term. The other thing is he can step in and have immediate value from him this year." The addition of Cooper puts the onus on both quarterback Dak Prescott and, even more so, offensive coordinator Scott Linehan to finally get things clicking. There are no more excuses to be had going forward, for either of them, because Jones sees Cooper as the cure that ails the Cowboys. "He'll definitely change the dynamic for the offense," he said proudly. "There's no question about it."<doc-sep>Odds are you watched the Houston Texans defeat the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football. Deshaun Watson had a marvelous game for Houston as did wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. I mean, look at this catch. This is so stupidly amazing pic.twitter.com/JcAWqKnmcb — Blogging The Boys (@BloggingTheBoys) October 26, 2018 You’ll remember that after the Cowboys lost in Houston a few weeks ago that Jerry Jones discussed how he wanted a number one receiver like Hopkins. Obviously the owner/general manager feels that Amari Cooper is someone capable of being that, which is why Dallas tossed a first-round pick Oakland’s way in order to acquire him. Jerry Jones was on 105.3 The Fan on Friday morning and spoke at length about the new toy on offense for Dak Prescott. Jerry appears often on 105.3 but actually cancelled his appearance on Tuesday morning. Many speculated that this was because he was preparing for a big move of a negative nature, but Jerry came clean that it was because he “can’t keep a secret” and the Amari trade was in the works. Jerry Jones says he didn't visit with the media after the loss to Washington because he was busy working on the trade with Oakland. "I can't keep a secret. I thought it was best to move on." https://t.co/2PVVv69HdX #Cowboys — 105.3 The FAN (@1053thefan) October 26, 2018 Jerry seems quite confident that Amari Cooper is going to bring new firepower to the Cowboys offense. He likened him to a Cowboys receiver of old (who also happened to wear number 19) when discussing his game and he noted how much he’s expected to make an impact. Jerry Jones compares Amari Cooper to Lance Alworth who he met on the University of Arkansas football team. — Gavin Dawson (@gavindawson) October 26, 2018 Jerry on Cooper: "He'll definitely change the dynamics of the offense." https://t.co/2PVVv69HdX #Cowboys — 105.3 The FAN (@1053thefan) October 26, 2018 Lance Alworth wasn’t the only previous member of the Cowboys to be mentioned by Jerry Jones in the Amari Cooper discussions. Jerry noted that he called a former linebacker of the team who’s gotten into coaching in his later years, one who happened to coach and draft Cooper while in Oakland... Jack Del Rio. Jerry tells @GavinDawson and the GBag crew that Jack Del Rio is who he called for his perspective on Cooper, so... https://t.co/LiYNTLC8LQ — Bobby Belt (@BobbyBeltTX) October 26, 2018 It’s going to be a lot of fun to watch Cooper for the first time in Week 9.<doc-sep>Michael Ainsworth/Associated Press Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones likes the early returns he has gotten on his decision to trade for wide receiver Amari Cooper. In an interview with 105.3 The Fan (h/t NFL.com's Herbie Teope) on Friday, Jones was complimentary of his new wideout: "He's been as advertised with his conscientiousness, how he approaches his work ethic. And, of course, he has unique skills." The Cowboys acquired Cooper from the Oakland Raiders on Monday for a 2019 first-round draft pick. It was a steep price to pay given Cooper's inconsistency this season. Through six games, Cooper has 22 receptions for 280 yards and one touchdown. Of his 280 yards, 244 came in just two games. Dallas ranked 29th in the NFL in passing offense entering Week 8, but Jones has no doubt Cooper will make a positive impact: "He'll definitely change the dynamics of the offense. There's no question about it." Cooper topped 1,000 yards and was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons after Oakland selected him with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 draft. Video Play Button Videos you might like He will look to lead an unheralded receiving corps that includes Cole Beasley, Allen Hurns, Deonte Thompson, Tavon Austin and rookie Michael Gallup. The 3-4 Cowboys are off this week, but they will host the Tennessee Titans on Monday Night Football in Week 9.<doc-sep>
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones usually takes to microphones like a moth to a flame, but he didn’t talk after last Sunday’s loss to Washington and he cancelled one of his weekly radio appearances before news of the team’s trade for wide receiver Amari Cooper broke this week. Jones was back on the airwaves Friday and said on 105.3 The Fan that he avoided the media because he knows he can’t keep a secret. The team was already talking about a deal for Cooper and Jones didn’t want to spill the beans before the agreement to send a first-round pick to Oakland was in place. That was seen by many as a high price to pay for a receiver who hasn’t been at the top of his game for the last year-plus and is set to make nearly $14 million next year. That’s the final year of his current contract, but Jones said Friday, via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News, that the Cowboys wouldn’t have paid such a high price if they weren’t planning to have Cooper around for the long term. There’s more than one way for that to happen as the Cowboys could use franchise tags in place of a long-term deal. Decisions on that front will likely wait until Cooper’s actually played for the Cowboys and Jones’ hopes for how that will go are as high as you’d expect. He said he expects Cooper to change the “dynamics” of the offense and compared him to former Cowboy and Pro Football Hall of Famer Lance Alworth. Making good on that comparison would make it easier for the Cowboys to justify the price paid to get Cooper to Dallas and any future price they’ll pay to keep him there.