Dallas Cowboys receiver Amari Cooper played just three snaps in Sunday's loss to the New York Jets before landing hard on the turf, suffering what would be a game-ending injury.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that the wideout was diagnosed with a thigh bruise, per a source. Rapoport noted that while the injury can be horribly painful, there is no indication of long-term damage.
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett confirmed Monday afternoon that Cooper is dealing with a thigh contusion and would not speculate on his availability for a key Week 7 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
"Don't really know," Garrett told reporters. "He has the contusion on his thigh, which obviously bothered him yesterday. ... We'll take his situation day by day."
The Cowboys' offense was wobbly for most of Sunday's loss sans Cooper, who caught one pass for three yards early before leaving with the thigh injury. Playing without Cooper and Randall Cobb, who missed the tilt due to hip/back injuries, the Cowboys were forced to lean on Tavon Austin (92 percent of snaps played) and Ced Wilson (59 percent) for the bulk of the contest.
Austin led the Cowboys with five catches for 64 yards. Thirty-seven-year-old tight end Jason Witten generated five catches for 57 yards.
The Cowboys' offense has been a shell of itself in recent weeks, looking more like the stodgy version of Garrett and Scott Linehan's offense than the creative attack we saw the first three weeks under Kellen Moore. Losing Cooper early didn't help Sunday. The hope is the Cowboys get their top receiver back soon and unearth their creative identity in the process.
