If the Dallas Cowboys didn’t already have enough to worry about as they head into their Sunday Night matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
This team will already be down DeMarcus Lawerence and Micah Parsons. Now, just reported about an hour ago, they will also be without Brandin Cooks.
Cooks had surgery in New York following last week’s win against the Giants, sources said.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said WR Brandin Cooks has a “knee issue” and won’t play Sunday at Pittsburgh. “I don’t get into specifics of the players’ injuries. … The specifics should be answered by the players. But he will not be available this week.”
McCarthy on the team’s…
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 2, 2024
After he developed symptoms upon his return to Dallas, Cooks had another surgery to clean out the infection in his knee.
In camp, Cooks had been dealing with a knee issue, but it did not keep him from practicing or playing. He had a similar procedure done over the summer during training camp without any issues.
Next Man Up
It is going to have to be the next man up for this team starting on Sunday.
Reports have already come out that they aren’t looking into trading for Davante Adams, who told the Raiders he wanted to be traded yesterday.
The last time the Cowboys made an in-season trade for a wide receiver was in 2018, when they acquired Amari Cooper from the Oakland Raiders for a first-round pick.
Jerry will continue to tell us all that he loves his guys, and won’t do a dang thing to try and win now. It sucks.
Cooks has not been awesome by any means this year, but he is still a guy teams have to keep an eye on.
In the first four games, Cooks has nine catches for 91 yards and a touchdown, but four of those receptions, and his only score came in the season-opening win against the Cleveland Browns.
On a human level you feel terrible for Brandin Cooks situation. I hope he heals up & is back quickly.
On the field though, he has 9 receptions & 91 yards in 4 games.
Time to find out what Tolbert can do with an increased role & let’s see Ryan Flournoy elevated for the 1st time.
— Tony Catalina (@Tony_Catalina) October 2, 2024
Now for an offense who can’t run the ball, a young offensive line will have to try and call on someone like Ryan Flournoy, who has yet to be active this season.
He was drafted in round 6 pick 216 in the 2024 draft class.
At Southeast Missouri State, over his final two seasons, Flournoy posted 118 receptions for 1,823 yards and 13 touchdowns. Against two FBS opponents, he gained 13 receptions for 152 yards.
Just let him loose, it is sink or swim time for him. He either goes out there and makes an impact, or he doesn’t. This team does not have time to milk these guys anymore.
Biggest Test?
Well, before Cooks got ruled out, I thought the offense would be able to win them the football game.
I still think they will make enough plays to overcome the Steelers, but this made things even harder. Dak Prescott, you are going to have to win this game, dude.
Jalen Tolbert has emerged as the No. 2 behind CeeDee Lamb, as he’s caught 13 passes for 160 yards and one touchdown this year. Tolbert will be called upon to step up in the passing game this week.
This is the perfect chance for Mike McCarthy to get KaVontae Turpin involved in this offense more. Move him around, make the defense have to keep an eye on what he is doing.
Look I know you want the shiny toy but objectively makes no sense. Amari Cooper familiarity and cap number makes a lot of sense but doubt Cowboys will do it even though the players would love it.
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) October 2, 2024
Without Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawerence, the team signed Kj Henry off the Bengals practice squad yesterday afternoon.
Henry, 25, was a fifth-round pick by Washington in 2023 and recorded 1.5 sacks and 19 tackles in 10 games (three starts) for the Commanders as a rookie.
Waived by Washington on Aug. 27, Henry signed with the Bengals and has played a total of 11 snaps on defense and seven on special teams in two games this season.
Henry probably won’t get up to speed with only having four days to prepare, so Mike Zimmer is going to have to count on Chauncey Golston and Marshawn Kneeland to try to pick up the slack while the duo is out.
This is going to make things even harder for both sides of the ball on Sunday. Mike McCarthy, Mike Zimmer, and Prescott can show us fans a lot right here if they win this game without three important players on Sunday Night Football.