Team news: Dallas Cowboys

Mike McCarthy said he's hoping Cowboys will get WR Brandin Cooks (knee) back this week.

Cooper Rush will get the start at QB again against the Commanders in Week 12. CeeDee Lamb led the way with 12 targets vs. the Texans, but it was Luke Schoonmaker, who took over after Jake Ferguson left with a concussion, who had 10 targets which was most behind Lamb. The addition of Cooks should help the Cowboys offense in what is a good matchup against the Commanders defense. For the fantasy world, Rush did end up throwing for 354 yards.

Mike McCarthy said Cooper Rush "will be the starter" this week against Washington and a package of plays will be formed for Trey Lance.

McCarthy came out and said he regrets not giving Lance a chance to run the offense in the loss to the Texans on Monday Night, but even after that the team is going forward with Rush in Week 12 against the Commanders. One would have to assume Rush gets the start the following week as well, which is a short week and a game on Thanksgiving Day game against the Giants.

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy acknowledged after Monday night’s 34-10 loss to the Texans that he should have given backup quarterback Trey Lance an opportunity to run the offense.

McCarthy said he should have taken quarterback Cooper Rush out so that Lance could show what he’s capable of doing.

“I think the one thing I should have done at the end, and I just didn’t do, was put Trey in there. I could’ve gotten him a series. That’s one thing that I would second-guess myself on,” McCarthy said. “I didn’t want to get into putting him in for a play or two, because he’s more than a gadget player in my opinion. We had him prepared to take a series, and frankly there at the end I should’ve gave him that series, and I regret not doing that.”

The Cowboys put up just 10 points under Rush in the game. The fact McCarthy is saying this, one can conclude Lance will eventually get his chance. One can also conclude that the team has started Rush over the last two games because Lance hasn't shown much in practice to this point. Still, the Cowboys don't appear to be going anywhere this year and it would make at least some sense to give Lance a chance to run the offense at some point. Lance is worth owning in deeper, two-QB or superflex leagues just in case he can provide any kind of spark. The Cowboys travel to Washington for a Week 12 game in the early, Sunday window. They then host the Giants on Thanksgiving Day in Week 13.

The Cowboys didn’t have many weapons before the game started. They have one fewer now.

The Cowboys have ruled out tight end Jake Ferguson with a concussion.

Related players: Luke Schoonmaker

Ferguson had one catch for 11 yards before departing in the first half. He is their third-leading receiver, behind CeeDee Lamb and Jalen Tolbert, with 43 receptions for 369 yards this season. His status for Week 12 at the Commanders is now in doubt, as a lot of players trend toward missing a week of action after a concussion. Schoonmaker filled in nicely catching six pass for 56 yards on 10 targets. He would make for a potential great replacement if he's still on your wire.

The Cowboys will have star receiver CeeDee Lamb, who is active. He popped up on the injury report Saturday with a back injury.

Lamb has 59 receptions for 681 yards and four touchdowns this season.

Owners will have to hope for the best with Cooper Rush at QB tonight. Last week Lamb was targeted 10 times, and that should hopefully continue tonight, but the Eagles held him to a line of 6-21-0.

The Cowboys added wide receiver CeeDee Lamb to their injury report on Saturday and listed him as questionable to play against the Texans on Monday night, but it looks like things are trending in the right direction heading into the game.

“We feel really good about it, that he’s gonna be able to play tonight,” Stephen Jones said, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com.

Lamb is dealing with a back injury, and Jones said on 105.3 The Fan that there’s a fair amount of optimism about Lamb being available to play, the story went on to say. Of course with no Dak Prescott, Lamb will be catching passes from Cooper Rush, or maybe even Trey Lance. That didn't go well last week against the Eagles, but the Cowboys have another home game against the Texans to try and get on track.

Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was added to the injury report Saturday with a back injury and is questionable for Monday against the Texans.

Head coach Mike McCarthy is optimistic Lamb will play Monday. It’s the latest in a string of injuries for the 3-6 Cowboys. Lamb sounds like he’ll be good to go, but grabbing a player like Jalen Tolbert may not be the worst idea as a potential backup plan.

Mike McCarthy moving away from running back by committee concept, declaring Rico Dowdle the No. 1 RB. “Rico needs to touch the ball,” he said.

Related Players: Ezekiel Elliott, Deuce Vaughn, Dalvin Cook, Hunter Luepke

This is great and all, but the Cooper Rush-led offense looked beyond miserable last week, and it's hard to see how it's going to get much better moving forward. Consider Dowdle a high-floor/low-ceiling RB3 in Week 11.

Jonathan Mingo is expected to make his debut for the Cowboys this week, per MM.

Mingo was inactive last week following the trade to allow time for ramping up.

Related Players: Jalen Tolbert, KaVontae Turpin, Jalen Brooks

We wouldn't expect a ton of action from Mingo fantasy-wise, but it's not as if he has a murderer's row of talent standing between himself and a WR2 role. He can be left on waiver wires in most every format, but might be worth checking to see if he ended up on waiver wires in Dynasty leagues.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will have surgery tomorrow and miss the rest of the season.

That’s the word from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who said today on 105.3 The Fan that Prescott is in New York, has consulted with doctors there, and has scheduled the season-ending surgery for Wednesday.

Related players: Cooper Rush, Trey Lance, CeeDee Lamb, Rico Dowdle

Jones said Prescott's, "prognosis is wonderful," so he should be good to go in time for next season, as the recovery timeline is about three months according to the story. The Cowboys announced Rush will get the start in Week 11, but Lance is lingering in the background and could get the call if Rush struggles like he did against the Eagles. So far, it seems like a big downgrade for the Cowboys offense.