Why is Amari Cooper out vs Raiders? Dallas Cowboys WR's return delayed
The Dallas Cowboys offense will be missing one of its top offensive weapons on Thanksgiving Day. Wide receiver Amari Cooper will be out for the second straight week because he is on the reserve/COVID list. The wide receiver was placed on the list because of rules the NFL has in place on players who are not vaccinated. The four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver must stay isolated for at least 10 days before possibly rejoining the Cowboys.
The #Cowboys will be without the following players in Week 12:
Amari Cooper
CeeDee Lamb
Blake Jarwin
Demarcus Lawrence
Randy Gregory
Neville Gallimore
Brent Urban
Jabril Cox
Donovan Wilson
How much longer will Cooper be out for?
Based on the current timeline, there is a chance Cooper can come back next week as Dallas travel to New Orleans to face the Saints in Week 13. Unlike Cooper, players who have received the coronavirus vaccine must have two negative COVID tests within a 24-hour timeframe and stay asymptomatic. However, they are not required to have any kind of obligatory isolation procedure.
Two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Dak Prescott will miss Cooper because of what the wide receiver has brought to their offense so far this season. The former first-round pick (4th overall) by the then-Oakland Raiders in the 2015 NFL Draft is second on the team with 65 targets. Cooper is also tied for second on the team with 44 receptions and 583 yards receiving and second with five TDs. His longest reception this season is 35 yards.
Dak Prescott makes a very clear statement on Amari Cooper (on Cowboys COVID-19 list):
si.com/nfl/cowboys/ne… #CowboysNation @fishsports https://t.co/VF7j15Aucn
Cooper has played over 70 percent of the Cowboys' offensive snaps in seven of the nine games he has played this season. Out of those seven games, he has played over 80 percent of the offensive snaps five times, and one game with 97 percent of the snaps. In his career, he has a catch percentage of 68.7 percent and 67.7 percent so far in nine games.
It’s too bad there’s no vaccine Amari Cooper could have taken that would have allowed him to play in this game.
Since Cooper joined the Cowboys after six games with the Raiders in 2018, he has 1,100 yards receiving in back-to-back years (2019 and 2020). In 49 starts (50 games) with the Cowboys, Cooper has 24 TD receptions while he had 19 in 47 starts (52 games) for the Raiders. He already has 184 first downs receiving for Dallas and had 138 when the Raiders were in Oakland. Whenever Cooper returns, it will be a welcome return for the Cowboys' offense as he is an integral part of what they do in the passing game.