Brandin Cooks has been out for the Dallas Cowboys since Week 4 due to an injury that caused him to land on injured reserve (IR). What happened to the Cowboys wide receiver, and when is he expected to return? Here are the latest updates on Cooks’ recovery.
What Is Brandin Cooks’ Injury?
After the Cowboys’ win over the New York Giants in Week 4, Cooks stayed in New York to undergo a procedure on his right knee. Unfortunately, an infection developed in his knee, which led to his subsequent placement on IR.
This is a unique set of circumstances and one we don’t have a ton of data to lean on. This isn’t an injury in the traditional sense — it’s an infection. Those can heal at varying rates. Plus, there’s always a risk the infection returns or gets worse when it seems to be getting better.
When Will Cooks Return From Injury?
Cooks has now missed five consecutive games, exceeding his requirement for the minimum number of missed games on IR. So Cooks is eligible to return at any time, though the Cowboys have yet to open his 21-day practice window.
Cooks did return to practice and work off to the side before Week 8, so he’s been a presence for several weeks now. The updates were encouraging at the time.
Saw Cowboys WR Brandin Cooks walking on the practice field and said, I see you got those knees out.
He responded with a smile and said, “you know what that means.”
Cooks is ready to return but he has to miss four games due to being placed on injured reserve.
Two more games then… pic.twitter.com/sof4sa3FxR— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) October 24, 2024
However, while Mike McCarthy had a seemingly positive update on Cooks before the team’s Week 10 matchup versus the Philadelphia Eagles, he didn’t commit to any definitive timeline for a return.
Mike McCarthy says Brandin Cooks is "feeling better" but doesn't have a status for his return yet. He's eligible to play Sunday against the Eagles. #DallasCowboys
— Tommy Yarrish (@tommy_yarrish) November 4, 2024
How Has Cooks’ Absence Impacted the Cowboys?
Cooks is now 31 years old, and even before getting hurt, he showed signs of slowing down. Through four games, Cooks’ EPA (expected points added) per target was 0.01. By comparison, it was 0.22 back in 2021.
The Cowboys had already shown a desire to have Jalen Tolbert win the WR2 job. He was already in the process of doing that when Cooks went on IR and ranks second on the team in receiving yards behind CeeDee Lamb.
Upon Cooks’ return, Tolbert’s snap share would likely take a small hit. He probably won’t be around 90% like he’s been recently, but we should still expect him to play ahead of the longtime veteran.
At 25 years old and having clearly improved over his first three seasons, Tolbert provides Dallas with much more than Cooks at this point in his career.
From a fantasy football standpoint, no Cowboys pass-catcher outside of Lamb is a reliable start with Dak Prescott potentially headed to injured reserve and maybe out for the season. Cooks would also likely need time to ramp up to a full workload of snaps, so it would be weeks before he’s even worth rostering outside of the deepest leagues.