Cowboys could upgrade at WR with DeAndre Hopkins, but would deal make sense for Dallas?

Arizona dropped DeAndre Hopkins on the free agent market this holiday weekend.

Are the Cowboys interested in adding a receiver who has been to the Pro Bowl five times to their roster? Sure. It would be irresponsible for the front office not to consider.

Does that mean Dallas is willing to offer Hopkins more than other potential suitors?

Probably not.

Hopkins would upgrade the receiving corps. The Cowboys have room under the salary cap to bid. Since the franchise finds itself in something of an arms race with division rival Philadelphia at the moment, proponents will argue this is an easy decision.

But that’s only part of the equation.

The club invested in Michael Gallup a little over a year ago, choosing the young receiver and his long-range future over Amari Cooper. Dallas is about to pay a premium to retain CeeDee Lamb. The Cowboys need to reach an extension with Lamb or Trevon Diggs in the coming months to avoid putting the organization in a bind next offseason.

And that doesn’t even take into account that quarterback Dak Prescott will sign a new contract sooner rather than later and the fact Dallas will need to make pass rusher Micah Parsons the highest-paid defensive player in franchise history.

Is Hopkins attractive for this season? Sure. But his contract would have a domino effect that would impact roster management and make it more difficult going forward.

These deals also come down to timing. If the Cowboys had been unable to swing a trade for Brandin Cooks two months ago — and acquire him at such a reasonable cost — it would be different. Without Cooks, it’s likely the Cowboys would be aggressively pursuing Hopkins.

But Cooks is here. Gallup has a nice contract and Lamb needs to be paid.

Yes, the Cowboys will explore signing Hopkins. But not all explorations reach their destination.

Twitter: @DavidMooreDMN

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