Cowboys Suffer Another Blow Before Steelers Game

The Dallas Cowboys suffered another blow before facing the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Sep 8, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Brandin Cooks (3) runs the ball past Cleveland Browns linebacker Jordan Hicks (58) during the fourth quarter at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images / Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The Dallas Cowboys lost one of their top offensive players prior to their matchup vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium this weekend.

Todd Archer, Dallas Cowboys reporter for ESPN NFL Nation, reported that wide receiver Brandin Cooks is out for at least a week and possibly longer, due to an infection in his right knee that developed after a procedure he had done in New York after win the win vs. the New York Giants on Spet. 26.

The Cowboys will be without WR Brandin Cooks for at least this week vs. Pittsburgh and potentially longer after an infection developed in his right knee following a procedure he had after remaining in NY following the win against the Giants, according to multiple sources.

— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) October 2, 2024

The Cowboys will need to rely on wide receivers in star CeeDee Lamb, but also Jalen Tolbert and Kavonte Turpin against the Steelers in a tense rivalry game.

Cooks came to the Cowboys in a trade with the Houston Texans for a fifth round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and a sixth round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

He played in 16 games, starting 15 of the, and finished with 54 catches for 657 yards and three touchdowns for Dallas in 2023. He also had nine catches for 91 yards and one touchdown through three games this season.

Cooks spent three seasons with the Texans (2020-22), coming from the Los Angeles Rams in a trade along with a 2020 NFL Draft fourth round pick in exchange for a second round pick in 2020. He started all 44 games he played, making 228 receptions for 2,886 yards and 15 touchdowns and set a career-high of 90 receptions in 2021.

The Rams acquired Cooks and a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft in a trade with the New England Patriots where they sent their first round pick and a sixth round pick in the same year.

Cooks had a great 2018 season, second on the team with 80 catches for a career-high 1,204 yards and added five touchdowns, starting all 16 games. He also had 19 catches for 292 yards in the postseason for the Rams, as they made the Super Bowl, losing to the Patriots.

He spent one season with the Patriots in 2017, where he made 65 catches for 1,082 yards and seven touchdowns. They landed Cooks in a trade with the New Orleans Saints, where the Patriots sent their first round and two third round draft picks in exchange for the player and a fourth round pick.

The Saints drafted Cooks with the No. 20 overall pick in 2014 out of Oregon State. He played his first three seasons in the NFL there, making 215 catches for 2,861 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Cooks was an exceptional player in college, receiving the Biletnikoff Award in 2013, honoring the best wide receiver, after making 128 receptions for 1,730 yards and 16 touchdowns, setting Pac-12 conference records for receptions and receiving yards.

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