Cowboys Placing WR Brandin Cooks On IR, Among Other Moves

Per Todd Archer, the Cowboys are placing WR Brandin Cooks on injured reserve due to an infection in his right knee.

Archer says the infection came after he had a procedure following the team’s game against the Giants. 

Depending on how he recovers, Cooks could end up missing more time, which is a big blow. The Cowboys have been hit with multiple injuries and already weren’t particularly deep at receiver. He will now miss at least the next four games.

Dallas is also signing LB Nick Vigil to their active roster and elevating DE Carl Lawson and CB Amani Oruwariye for Week 5, according to Archer.

Cooks, 31, is a former first-round pick of the Saints back in 2014. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $8.4 million contract when he was traded to the Patriots in 2017. 

New England later picked up his fifth-year option for the 2018 season before trading him to the Rams for first- and sixth-round picks. From there, Cooks agreed to a five-year extension worth $81 million with Los Angeles, only to be traded to the Texans in 2020.

Cooks was set to make a base salary of $12.5 million for the 2022 season when he agreed to a two-year, $39.6 million extension with Houston. However, the Texans traded him to the Cowboys in 2023 for a mid-round pick. 

In 2024, Cooks has appeared in four games for the Cowboys and caught nine passes on 19 targets for 91 yards receiving and one touchdown.

We’ll have more on Cooks as the news is available.