The Facts: The Cowboys believed last summer they were entering their final season with Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup all at wide receiver. Several months later, as the 2022 league year approaches, that belief is unchanged. A split is considered all but a foregone conclusion. Almost certainly, the band won’t be back together. There are still too many moving pieces to say exactly how the situation will unfold, one person close to the situation cautioned Thursday. It could be Gallup who rejoins Lamb in Dallas. It could be Cooper. At this stage, however, the shared opinion from several sources at the NFL combine is it would be an upset if Cooper returns.

Diehards Line: As Morning News staffer Michael Gehlkin notes, no one will be wondering long. Cooper is due a $20 million salary that becomes fully guaranteed if he’s still on the roster March 20 at 3 p.m. CT. Gallup is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent March 16, able to enter contract negotiations with other teams two days earlier. Decisions are imminent. Contract talks between the Cowboys and Gallup will factor heavily into the direction the team goes with Cooper. Those discussions are still in their early stages, hence why no final clarity is possible today. All that said, the Cowboys can cut or trade Cooper by March 20 and take just a $6 million dead-money hit against their salary cap. With a standard release of Cooper before the deadline or trade, Dallas will clear $16 million in 2022 cap space. The team also could cut him before the deadline while designating him as a post-June-1 release. This would clear $20 million in 2022 cap space and push $4 million in dead money for 2023. Right now, Cooper is scheduled to count $22 million against the 2022 cap if he is on the roster. The Cowboys could restructure that figure if they move forward with Cooper. ... Stay tuned.