FRISCO, Texas -- While the quadriceps bruise Amari Cooper has dealt with the past two games is no worse than it was after three snaps in the loss to the New York Jets, the availability of the Dallas Cowboys' wide receiver in Sunday's first-place showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles is in serious question, according to a source.
Cooper pulled himself from the Jets game after catching one of two passes thrown his way for 3 yards in the Cowboys' first series. He briefly rode the stationary bike and spent the rest of the half on the sideline without receiving any treatment before officially being ruled out in the second half.
Jason Garrett told reporters on Monday that he did not know if Cooper would be able to play this week and the team would take Cooper's situation day by day.
The Cowboys were not aware of any issues that cropped up well before kickoff on Sunday that would have limited Cooper or made them rethink their options on the 46-man roster. "Anticipated him being able to play," Garrett said.
After the game, owner and general manager Jerry Jones said he thought Cooper would be able to play against the Eagles.
"I don't know why not," Jones said. "I don't know that anything he did out there tonight impacted his quad ... He didn't feel like he could really be productive without getting a setback there tonight."
Cooper initially suffered the injury in the third quarter of the Cowboys' Week 5 loss to the Green Bay Packers, a game in which he set a career high with 226 yards on 11 catches. He remained in that game after getting hurt, including catching a 53-yard touchdown.
Last week, Cooper said the ankle injury that has bothered him the past few weeks was more of an issue than the quadriceps and that the heel injury that kept him out of most of training camp was no longer a problem.
Cooper had 20 catches for 292 yards and three touchdowns in two games against the Eagles last season, with a 10-catch, 217-yard, three-touchdown effort in the Cowboys' overtime win at AT&T Stadium on Dec. 9, 2018.
Randall Cobb did not play against the Jets because of a back issue that cropped up during practice in the middle of the week and his availability for the Philadelphia game is not yet known.
Without Cooper and Cobb, the Cowboys had Michael Gallup, Tavon Austin and Cedrick Wilson as their top three receivers with Ventell Bryant as a backup. Devin Smith, who had a 51-yard touchdown catch in a Week 2 win against the Washington Redskins, has been inactive the past two games.