The Dallas Cowboys have a tremendous, rich history of great players coming and going, but what players did the team give up on way too soon? There are a handful of examples, and you don’t even hardly need to leave the last couple of decades to find them.
Unfortunately, this is true for many NFL teams. Fortunately for the players, however, the end of their stories with the Dallas Cowboys merely marked the beginning of something new. One chapter ended, and another began.
Which players have the Dallas Cowboys given up on way too soon in the franchise’s recent history? There are some big names on that list. We’ve narrowed it down to just five players.
5 players the Dallas Cowboys gave up on way too soon
1. Danny Amendola, WR
Before he became one of Tom Brady’s “bros” in New England, before he even became a household name with the St. Louis Rams from 2009-2012, Danny Amendola was originally signed as an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech by the Dallas Cowboys.
As a quick side note, not that any Dallas Cowboys fans need this validation, but this franchise is bordering on unparalleled when it comes to finding players in undrafted free agency.
The Cowboys signed Amendola straight out of Texas Tech, and while he didn’t make their roster in 2008, he did spend his entire rookie season on the Cowboys’ practice squad. They had this guy in the building for a full season.
Amendola quickly proved himself as a valuable slot receiver, punt returner, and kickoff returner with the Rams, and the New England Patriots actually signed him to replace legendary slot receiver Wes Welker in the 2013 offseason. Amendola played five seasons for the Patriots and was so clutch for them in the playoffs, catching 57 passes for over 700 yards and six touchdowns in 13 playoff games, winning multiple rings in the process.
And to think, his NFL career started with a “redshirt” year in Dallas…
2. Martellus Bennett, TE
The Dallas Cowboys used a second-round selection (61st overall) on Martellus Bennett in the 2008 NFL Draft, the same year the team found Danny Amendola in undrafted free agency.
Little did the Cowboys know they were going to let multiple young players go way before they should have, right?
Bennett spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys, enjoying a mixed bag of success and failure. He averaged over 14 yards per reception in his rookie season in Dallas and finished with four touchdowns, but those would unfortunately be the only four touchdowns he would score as a member of the Cowboys.
The Cowboys drafted Bennett during the peak of Jason Witten’s time with the team, back when Witten was eating up an average of 130 targets per season. That certainly didn’t allow for a ton of usage of Bennett, but obviously the Cowboys didn’t know what kind of a gem they had on their hands, despite investing a second-round pick in him.
Bennett would leave the Cowboys after his rookie contract was up, and over the next handful of seasons, he would go on to average 754 yards per 17 games, along with five touchdowns per 17 games with an average of 103 targets per season.
He made the Pro Bowl as a member of the Chicago Bears in 2014 when he caught 90 passes for 916 yards and six touchdowns. He helped the New England Patriots win the Super Bowl during the 2016 season when he caught 55 passes for over 700 yards and seven touchdowns, as well as catching 11 of his 15 targets in the playoffs.
Regardless of whether or not there was “room” for Bennett on the Dallas Cowboys, they clearly gave up on him too soon. Or, if you’re Bennett, maybe just in time…
3. Amari Cooper, WR
Looking back on it, even just a year in the rearview, I still cannot fathom what the Dallas Cowboys were thinking when they traded away wide receiver Amari Cooper for a sack of chips during the 2022 offseason.
Although he’s been considered underrated for the majority of his career, it’s hard to fathom that the team that employed him could have possibly underrated the skills, ability, and impact of a player like Amari Cooper. What he has lacked throughout his NFL career in flash, he has more than made up for with consistency.
The Cowboys struck a trade with the Raiders in 2018 to acquire Amari Cooper, one of the bigger in-season blockbuster deals you will typically see. Cooper had an immediately positive impact on the Dallas Cowboys, catching 53 passes for 725 yards and six touchdowns in his first nine games with the team.
He would rack up over 1,000 yards in each of the 2019 and 2020 seasons for the Cowboys before his production took a slight dip in the 2021 season. That was understandable considering Dak Prescott missed most of the year.
The Cowboys figured that the return of Prescott in 2022 would mean the raising of all boats in the harbor, but they were wrong. Prescott struggled with throwing too many interceptions last season, and I can’t help but think that was due largely to not having a player like Amari Cooper to have in tandem with CeeDee Lamb.
Why you would make your wide receiver position intentionally worse when you’ve invested so much at the QB position, I’ll never understand.
The Cowboys gave up on Cooper who had a very good first season with the Cleveland Browns in 2022, catching 78 passes for 1,160 yards and a career-high nine touchdowns. Seems like the Cowboys could have used that production and could use it going forward.
4. DeMarcus Ware, EDGE
The Dallas Cowboys used a first-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft on Hall of Famer DeMarcus Ware, and nobody can ever take away the great years he played for the team.
As a member of the Cowboys, Ware began his bid for Canton with years of consistent pass rush productivity. In 141 games with the Dallas Cowboys, Ware had 117.0 sacks, 145 tackles for loss, 185 QB hits, 32 forced fumbles, and multiple defensive touchdowns as he became one of the most feared pass rushers in the entire NFL.
In the 2014 offseason, however, the Cowboys made the absolutely shocking decision to part ways with Ware, making him a cap casualty and completely shaking up 2014 NFL Free Agency. It seemingly took minutes for the Denver Broncos to get on the phone with DeMarcus Ware’s representatives, and they had him on a plane flying to Denver almost immediately to come and pair up with superstar Von Miller.
The Cowboys releasing Ware prevented the Broncos from signing free agent DE Jared Allen, who was close to joining that Denver defense before Ware became available. The Broncos pivoted their plan, got Ware in the fold, and the rest is history.
Ware’s impact in Denver was felt immediately. The Broncos went from having a disappointing defense in 2013 to being an elite defense in 2014. Not only did the defense take a huge leap forward, but Ware’s arrival in Denver was critical for the development of Von Miller, who was coming off of a torn ACL and had been suspended by the NFL the year prior. Ware’s leadership and mentorship were invaluable to Von.
By the time the 2015 season rolled around, the Denver Broncos had assembled arguably the best defense in league history. DeMarcus Ware was an absolute maniac down the stretch that season, knocking quarterbacks down left and right. His 2015 playoff run is one of the most dominant stretches of play you will ever see by an individual pass rusher, topped only perhaps by his Broncos teammate Von Miller that same year.
In the 2015 playoffs, Ware had 12 QB hits and 3.5 sacks along with 4.0 tackles for loss. He was bringing pressure on almost every snap. Just ask Tom Brady. The duo of Ware and Miller got the Patriots’ offensive line coach fired after the AFC Championship game.
Perhaps fate just dealt Ware the right hand, or perhaps the Dallas Cowboys gave up on him too early. He played three seasons in Denver, making two Pro Bowls and winning Super Bowl 50.
5. Terrell Owens, WR
Say what you want about this one being a stretch, I think the Dallas Cowboys gave up on Terrell Owens way too soon.
For that matter, you could argue the 49ers and Eagles gave up on Owens too soon. But for the Dallas Cowboys, the timing of Owens’ release was really unfortunate.
Owens has stated in the past that he felt blindsided by the Cowboys’ decision to release him in the 2009 offseason. He was coming off of a year in which he had just caught 69 passes for 1,052 yards and 10 touchdowns. Part of the motivation to trade Owens came from the Cowboys’ odd and not exactly beloved decision the year prior to trade for former first-round pick Roy Williams of the Detroit Lions.
The Cowboys made a blockbuster deal to acquire Williams from Detroit, then sign him to a six-year, $54 million deal just a few days after the trade. Unfortunately, Williams was nowhere near the type of impact player for the Cowboys that Terrell Owens had been, even in Owens’ later years.
Owens, seemingly an ageless wonder, caught 59 passes and five touchdowns on a horrendous Buffalo Bills team in 2009, and then went to the Cincinnati Bengals in 2010 where he caught 72 passes for 983 yards and nine touchdowns.
Roy Williams, by comparison, averaged 37.5 receptions for 563 yards and 6 TDs in his two full seasons with the Dallas Cowboys before he was let go and finished his career with the Chicago Bears.
The decision to let go of Terrell Owens, who had tremendous chemistry with Tony Romo at the time, was as nonsensical as it gets. And Owens could have really helped that ascending Cowboys team, which won 11 games in 2009 and made it to the playoffs…where Roy Williams caught just 5 passes for 59 yards in two games.