The Dallas Cowboys have lost three games in a row, and their star receiver Amari Cooper is injured. So, former Cowboy great Michael Irvin has an idea to fix this mess: Sign controversial wide receiver Antonio Brown.
“I don’t see any trade out there now that will get us over the top,” Irvin said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Wednesday. “Amari, he’ll get back, unless you want to go pick up Antonio Brown until [Cooper] gets back. What are your guys thoughts on that?”
Hosts Shan Shariff and R.J. Choppy both shot down the idea of signing Brown, currently a free agent.
“I’m not going to lie, desperation makes you start thinking about a lot of things,” Irvin said. “We ain’t got no time to be sitting here riding the high horse like we too good for this and we too good for that. We need some H-E-L-P right now, some real help.”
But even if the Cowboys wanted to sign Brown, the NFL might not allow it.
On September 20, Brown was released by the New England Patriots after the receiver was accused of sending intimidating text messages to a woman alleging sexual misconduct by the player. Brown has also been accused of rape by another woman.
The NFL is reviewing both matters. So, until the NFL concludes their investigation, it’s unclear if teams can even sign the player.
“We’re still working at that,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said at a Wednesday league meeting in Fort Lauderdale. “I will probably be getting an update when I get back to New York. Our folks have been working diligently at that. When we reach a conclusion, I’ll obviously let you know.”
But Irvin feels desperate times call for desperate measures.
“I don’t care where we find help, I don’t care what kind of media relations coming with it or public relations nightmare come with it,” Irvin said. “Wins can cure some of those things.”
While Dallas’ passing game wasn’t great last week in their loss to the New York Jets, part of that problem might not have been related to the receiver position. Dallas played that game without both their injured starting offensive tackles – left tackle Tyron Smith and right tackle Lael Collins – perhaps the best tandem in football. Having your bookend offensive tackles out, especially two players of this magnitude, would be tough for most offensives to overcome. Both players are expected back very soon and the team’s brass believes that this will help their offensive immeasurable.
Cooper is also expected back soon from a leg injury not considered a long-term malady.
But Irvin is very concerned with Cooper’s potential absence for the Cowboys’ next game, a division match-up against the Philadelphia Eagles.
“Where we’re hurting right now, we’re hurting in the worse places, in the worse places, and you see it,” Irvin said. “Any good coach is going to be able to attack our weaknesses. First of all, Philly had no answer for Amari Cooper last year, and now Amari Cooper is likely not going to be playing.”
And Antonio Brown isn’t likely to play for Dallas either, especially with a league investigation going on.