Cowboys WR Cooks has Surgery for Infection, Out Week 5

The injury bug claimed yet another victim on the Dallas Cowboys during their Week 4 20-15 victory over the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football. DeMarcus Lawrence has been placed on injured reserve due to a Lisfranc injury, while Micah Parsons is expected to miss at least one game with a high ankle sprain. Now, it has affected the offensive side of the football. No. 2 wide receiver Brandin Cooks is set to miss time as well.

Cooks will miss the Cowboys’ Week 5 matchup against Justin Fields and the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1), and possibly longer, according to ESPN, due to a serious infection that developed in his right knee following a procedure he had gone through in New York after the W over the Giants. After landing in ‘Big D’ following the New York procedure, Cooks reportedly needed another surgery to clean the infection. Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy confirmed Cooks will definitely be sidelined for the Cowboys’ Week 5 “Sunday Night Football” game against the Steelers.

“Brandin Cooks has a knee issue,” McCarthy said on Wednesday. “He will not be available this week.”

In four games this season, Cooks production has flat lined and he has caught just nine balls for 91 yards and one score. He ranks fourth in receiving yards for the Cowboys, and his 22.8 receiving yards per game is a career-low for the 31-year-old. McCarthy applauded the intangible impact and veteran leadership Cooks continues to provide despite the slow start to the season for him individually.

“Brandin Cooks is somebody that really made a big impact on our football team,” McCarthy said. “It goes beyond the field. You talk about a true pro, teaching others, particularly young players, taking them under his wing, I mean he’s done all those things that you look for in a veteran player. So, yeah, I mean, Brandin Cooks has a lot of love and respect in this building.”

Jalen Tolbert has come on strong as the No. 2 behind CeeDee Lamb, as he has hauled in 13 receptions for 160 yards and one touchdown in 2024. Tolbert will be summoned to take on a larger role in the arial attack this week, along with KaVontae Turpin. McCarthy credited the extra reps Tolbert and others got in training camp for his development when Lamb was in the throes of his contract holdout before inking a four-year, $136 million extension in late August.

“I think really all those guys when, as a young player in this league regardless of the position, when you get reps regardless of how you get them, there’s tremendous value in that,” McCarthy said. “And I think you can clearly see what Jalen’s done; he does a lot of the little things right. He has a really good connection with Dak and the quarterbacks. And it’s only going to get better. That’s the beauty of if you look at the top connections between quarterbacks and receivers, just you look at Dak and CeeDee as they continue to play year in and year out, those relationships and connections, they take time to develop.”

McCarthy is counting on versatility out of Tolbert, Pro Bowl returner KaVontae Turpin, 2023 seventh-round pick Jalen Brooks and 2024 sixth-round pick Ryan Flournoy when they try to do everything they can to pick up the slack in Cooks’ absence.

“Think if you watch us play over the course of a season, the important component in our receiver group is their ability to be able to move them in all three spots,” McCarthy said. “Whether it’s the one spot, two spot, three spot, it’s something guys can even play what I could call the four spot, which would be in the backfield, which obviously CeeDee and Turp have played there. Yeah, their flexibility is important.”