The Dallas Cowboys will have to outpower Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday without one of their top offensive weapons. On Friday, the Cowboys announced that they had placed starting wide receiver Amari Cooper on the reserve/COVID-19 list, which will knock him out of Sunday's matchup. ESPN's Todd Archer reports that Cooper will also miss the Cowboys' Thanksgiving matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders as well.
It is unknown if Cooper is vaccinated or not. According to the NFL, fully vaccinated players who are within the first six days of quarantine after a confirmed positive may return once they have recorded two negative laboratory PCR tests taken at least 24 hours apart and have been asymptomatic for 48 hours. Fully vaccinated individuals who are in days 7-10 of quarantine after a positive test may return once they have received one negative laboratory PCR test, followed by a negative rapid PCR test taken 24 hours later. They also, of course, have to be asymptomatic for 48 hours. Unvaccinated players must isolate for 10 days away from the facility.
In nine games this season, Cooper has caught 44 passes for 583 yards and five touchdowns. All of those marks rank second behind fellow starter CeeDee Lamb. Without Cooper in the lineup, expect Michael Gallup, who recently returned to the field, to get more action in the passing game. Also look for Cedrick Wilson to step up as he has at certain points this season.
