The deeper we get into the new league year, the more likely it becomes the Dallas Cowboys will find their new starting wide receiver in the NFL Draft.

They made a run at Cooper Kupp, but Kupp’s contract demands did not align with Dallas’ budget. While this front office has a penny-pinching reputation, Kupp signed a lofty three-year, $45 million deal with the Seahawks. The Joneses should not be scorned for not wanting to pay a declining, oft-injured receiver $15 million per year.

With that said, the roster still has a glaring need for a WR2. The Cowboys have only added journeyman Parris Campbell to this point and most of the available free agents are aging vets who are past their respective primes, like Stefon Diggs, Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen and Tyler Lockett.

Brandin Cooks falls under that category as well, but he’s familiar with the locker room, a lead-by-example player and huge fan of Dak Prescott. A reunion makes sense on paper, but it feels like a long shot at best after a recent development.

It doesn’t sound like Brandin Cooks will be back with the Cowboys

The Cowboys announced jersey numbers for their new players, including a couple number changes from players who were on the 2024 roster. Pass-rusher Dante Fowler Jr., who returns after a one-year stint in Washington, will don the No. 3 jersey, previously assigned to Cooks.

While this doesn’t guarantee that Cooks won’t be back, it does hint that Dallas wants to move in a different direction.

Ezekiel Elliott initially took Stephon Gilmore’s No. 21 jersey when he signed last offseason. While Elliott eventually pivoted to No. 15, Gilmore ultimately signed with the Vikings. Gilmore was open to a Cowboys return, but nary a report indicated the team made an offer.

It is worth noting that Cooks has donned five jersey numbers in his career: 10, 14, 12, 13 and 3 the last two seasons with Dallas.

Odds are he wouldn’t have an issue picking another number if he re-upped with the five-time Super Bowl champs. At the same time, Cooks has built up enough equity in his career that a team like Dallas may set aside his jersey number while he decides his future.

Then again, teams begin training camp with 90 players. There are only so many jersey numbers to go around and surely the Cowboys don’t want one player to hold up that process.

If Cooks was on the cusp of returning to Dallas, though, something tells us Fowler wouldn’t have picked the No. 3.