BrandinCooks

News: 3 hours agoCooks (knee), who remains on injured reserve, is listed as questionable for Sunday's contest at Washington, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

Spin: Cooks required an IR stint, starting Week 5, due to an infection that developed in his right knee following a surgical procedure. Since he was designated to return from injured reserve Tuesday, he sandwiched a pair of limited walkthroughs around Thursday's capped practice. The Cowboys will need to activate Cooks by 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday in order for him to have a chance to play Sunday. If that comes to pass, he could be eased into the mix behind top WR CeeDee Lamb (back/foot), who followed an LP/DNP/FP practice regimen this week and doesn't have a game designation.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Cooks averaged 10.8 fantasy points during his first season with the Cowboys, making him barely a top-50 fantasy WR, with the highlight being a surprising eight touchdown receptions. The overall production, however, was below expectations. The 30-year-old Cooks boasts six seasons with more than 1,000 receiving yards for four other franchises, but he has been held to less than 700 yards in consecutive seasons, a troubling trend. The Cowboys throw a lot -- no team had more completions in 2023 -- but Cooks is no longer more than a reliable WR4 fantasy option, especially when his touchdown rate from last season regresses.