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  Todd Archer, ESPN Staff WriterOct 2, 2024, 12:21 PM ET

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  Todd Archer is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Dallas Cowboys. Archer has covered the NFL since 1997 and Dallas since 2003. He joined ESPN in 2010. You can follow him on Twitter at @toddarcher.

FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys will be without wide receiver Brandin Cooks for Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers — and potentially longer — after an infection developed in his right knee following a procedure last week, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

Cooks had a procedure in New York following last week’s win against the Giants, sources said. After he developed symptoms upon his return to Dallas, Cooks had surgery to clean out the infection in his knee. That was performed by team doctors over the weekend.

Coach Mike McCarthy confirmed Cooks wouldn’t play against the Steelers on Sunday.

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Cooks, 31, had been dealing with a knee issue since training camp, but it did not keep him from practicing or playing. He had a similar procedure done over the summer during training camp without any issues.

In the first four games, Cooks has nine catches for 91 yards and a touchdown, but four of those receptions — and his TD — came in the season-opening win against the Cleveland Browns.

The Cowboys have had difficulty getting Cooks going offensively since acquiring him in a trade from the Houston Texans in 2023. He came to the Cowboys with six 1,000-yard seasons to his credit with four different franchises (New Orleans, New England, Los Angeles Rams, Houston).

Cooks, who had 54 catches for 657 yards and eight touchdowns last season, has been a valuable mentor to the wide receivers and entire locker room. During training camp, he displayed his top-end speed to make numerous plays.

His absence leaves the Cowboys thin and inexperienced at receiver behind CeeDee Lamb, who has 20 receptions for 316 yards and two touchdowns.

The Cowboys have Jalen Tolbert, Jalen Brooks, KaVontae Turpin and Ryan Flournoy, who has yet to be active this season, behind Lamb on the 53-man roster. They have combined for 21 receptions for 267 yards and two scores.

“I love the guys we have here,” McCarthy said. “[Flournoy] is definitely ready. I mean he’s someone who has been competing each week to be up. He’ll definitely have more opportunities. The two Jalens, this is more opportunities for them, Turpin. Yeah, love our practice squad guys. We’ll be in good shape there.”

The last time the Cowboys made an in-season trade for a wide receiver was in 2018, when they acquired Amari Cooper from the Oakland Raiders for a first-round pick.

The Cowboys have $22.25 million in salary cap room, according to NFLPA figures. However, they wanted to carry over most of that money to 2025, when they will need the room for the dead money on expiring contracts involving Zack Martin, DeMarcus Lawrence and Cooks.