The hits keep on coming for the Dallas Cowboys, as they will play without wide receiver Brandin Cooks for at least Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers as he recovers from an infection he is suffering in his knee following an injection he had over the weekend.
ESPN’s Todd Archer first reported that Cooks will miss the Sunday night game.
The team’s leading receiver, CeeDee Lamb with 316 yards, is expected to get more work against a physical Steelers defense, but the rest of the receiver room comprised of Jalen Tolbert (160 yards), KaVontae Turpin (55 yards) Jalen Brooks (52 yards) and Ryan Flournoy (awaiting NFL debut) will be asked to take an extra step offensively as well in Cooks’ absence.
While Cooks has remained in team meetings to help the young receivers take on a bigger role this week, the responsibility is falling on the youth of the room to provide Dak Prescott with multiple reliable pass-catching options against the Steelers.
“I think it’s just opportunity,” Tolbert said. “When my number is called, just make a play and continue to grow on that. I feel like I’ve been ready for it, I’m ready to go out there and show it.”
Tolbert has seen his number called in critical situations so far early in his third year in the NFL, as he will look to build on his early consistency of three consecutive games with at least three receptions.
“I think you can clearly see what Jalen’s done,” head coach Mike McCarthy said. “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.
Brooks has been mostly relegated to situational opportunities, but his elevation up the depth chart in Cooks’ absence has him calling back to his experience of always having to prove his value at a higher level throughout his football career.
“It’s next man up,” Brooks said. “Being ready mentally comes from the experience of playing the game. I started at Division II in college and then I transferred it to FCS then to the University of South Carolina. You just have to put in the work for it. Putting that work in will give you that confidence and that boost.”
The opportunity for Tolbert and Brooks feels similar to their experience at training camp when CeeDee Lamb was absent because of a contractual holdout . Those few weeks allowed each receiver to have more reps with Prescott and the first-team offense in practices.
“If you look at camp, I was doing a lot of WR2 role stuff,” Tolbert said. “This week is nothing different. We just have CeeDee and me instead of B-Cooks and me. It’s about playing our style of football, being myself and going out there and not trying to force and do too much. Just play my style of football and do what I can for this offense and the opportunity that I’m given.”
Having those reps in the back pocket of the offense is also seen as a positive for McCarthy.
“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,” he said.
Rookie Ryan Flournoy – who was drafted in the sixth round out of Southeast Missouri State in April and shined in the preseason with a pair of touchdown grabs – is expected to make his NFL debut after being on the inactive list for each of the team’s first four games.
“Super confident,” Flournoy said about the opportunity. “I’ve built that hunger. It’s week five and I haven’t played since that last preseason game. I’ve been hungry ever since. I’m thankful that I’m able to show what I got and prove to the world that I belong.”
Tolbert is expected to start opposite of Lamb with either Jalen Brooks or KaVontae Turpin earning the first start of their respective NFL careers. Cooks will miss the game against Pittsburgh and will be re-evaluated ahead of the team’s game against the Detroit Lions at home in week six, the Cowboys’ final contest before their bye week.
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