The Dallas Cowboys on Friday announced that wide receiver Amari Cooper has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list and will not play Sunday. The Cowboys travel to Arrowhead Stadium in a pivotal matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Amari Cooper will miss Sunday’s game with the Chiefs, and perhaps another game. The Cowboys have placed him on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
— Nick Eatman (@nickeatman) November 19, 2021
With Cooper being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list so close to the game Sunday, he might even need to sit Week 12's matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders on Thanksgiving.
This is a big blow to the Cowboys offense ahead of what figures to be a shootout between two of the league's best offense. Amari Cooper is having a solid year, despite playing alongside breakout star receiver CeeDee Lamb.
Cooper has 583 yards receiving and five receiving touchdowns on the season. He is 2nd on the team on both catches and yards receiving behind Lamb.
Article Continues BelowWith Cooper out of the lineup, the return of Michael Gallup last week should be critical. Kansas City's defense has been better lately, but still is not a great unit stopping the run.
Expect the Cowboys to lean heavily on the running game with quarterback Dak Prescott missing one of his most trusted weapons on the outside. Ezekiel Elliot and Tony Pollard have turned into one of the best tandems at running back in the NFL.
The Cowboys sit comfortably atop the NFC East. However, the race for the overall #1 seed and only first round bye is extremely tight. The Packers, Cardinals and Cowboys all have two losses, with the Rams and Buccaneers having lost three.
At this point, every game is critical and losing one of your best players before facing the Chiefs is far from ideal.