FRISCO - The veteran Brandin Cooks came to the Dallas Cowboys two years ago with a fine reputation as a locker-room leader and a pro's pro.
So when he speaks in a way that he knows might ruffle some feathers?
His locker room pays attention. And so do we.
Cooks is now entering free agency for the first time in his 11-year career this offseason, after the oft-traded standout has ended up spending time with the New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams and Houston Texans before the Cowboys.
We don't see Cooks returning to Dallas as a front-burner issue for the Cowboys, though receiver help is needed alongside CeeDee Lamb.
But Cooks himself is open to a return ... especially because, in his mind, substantial changes are afoot.
"I'm expecting a good free agency ..." Cooks said to reporter Josina Anderson. "but I'm also open to returning to Dallas."
One problem with that possible return? Cooks is now talking openly about the difficulty he had fitting in to the Cowboys system last season under the now-departed head coach Mike McCarthy.
And in a sense, he is taking a pot shot or two at "Big Mike.''
"I would love to play with the Cowboys, (but) at the same time they would have to use me right. I don't think they fully used me to my strengths," Cooks said. "I don't like to be stagnant out there and teams are getting away from that.''
That last paragraph is a loaded one. It suggests that Dallas' offense was "stagnant'' and is suggests that McCarthy was doing things on offense that are behind the times.
Cooks, who finished with 657 yards and eight touchdowns in his first season with Dallas but who last year missed seven games and had just 259 yards and three touchdowns - was previously a perennial 1,000-yard wideout.
As he is about to turn 32 it September, is it possible that the former first-round pick in 2014 was used in a limited way because his talents are fading?
Or did McCarthy really miscalculate what Cooks can be here?
Interestingly, Cooks predicts things can be different in 2025.
Whether I'm out wide and motion in towards the slot, or vice versa, I work well from that,'' he said. "I think 'Schotty' (new Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer) has got some flavor and will put his touches on the offense now, too.''
Sounds like a plan, but ... wasn't "Schotty'' the Cowboys offensive coordinator last year? Isn't he a McCarthy protege?
We are frankly a bit hesitant to suggest that Dallas is suddenly going to reinvent the offensive wheel in 2025. But if the do? Cooks might want in.
"At the end of the day I'm just trying to win,'' Cooks said. "I am fully healthy and have nothing to hide."
When it comes to taking a subtle dig or two at his former coach? He's apparently got "nothing to hide'' at all.
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This story was originally published March 9, 2025 at 7:28 AM.