The news heading into Week 2 isn't all bad for the , as difficult as that might be to fathom right now. After all, they're currently enduring waves of unfortunate news headlined by the , a multi-week and , and questions on if will clear the COVID-19 protocol in time to take the field against the on Sunday. However, former first-round pick might give
Jacoby Ellsbury Jersey them something to smile about.Not only are the Cowboys welcoming back perennial All-Pro right guard from the reserve/COVID-19 list, but Hooker, who signed on late in training camp, is expected to make his debut for Dallas in Week 2, sources tell CBS Sports and news team executive Stephen Jones spoke about earlier this week. This would put another defensive playmaker on the field after losing at least one, keeping the degree of difficulty for quarterback more level than it otherwise would've been if Hooker wasn't on the roster."I think we'll see Hooker in a uniform this week -- more than likely," Jones said 105.3 The FAN on Monday.All things considered, it will be a stunner if he isn't.Hooker is looking to return to regular season action from a torn Achilles that ended his 2020 season and his time with the . He proceeded to work out with the Cowboys in March but failed secure a deal -- mostly because the club wanted to see more progre s in his recovery before committing to him. They'd go on to sign safeties and instead but circled back to grab Hooker in training camp and signed him to a one-year deal. Having taken snaps to conclude the preseason, Hooker is 100% healthy and ready to make an impact. In his first three seasons in Indianapolis, he reeled in seven interceptions and two fumble recoveries in 33 starts. He expects more of the same in 2021." The Cowboys are getting a game-changer and an athletic ballhawk," Hooker told media in late July. "That's what I've been since I came out of Ohio State . ... Also, vocally I'm a leader. That's the main thing: being able to get guys lined up and just making sure everybody is on one page."The Cowboys made Hooker inactive in Week 1 for a combination of reasons, from a
Tyler Austin Jersey numbers game on special teams to the fact Kazee has established himself as the starter opposite . But with Wilson now nursing a groin injury that's held him out of practice this week -- he hasn't been ruled out as of yet, however -- and the Cowboys being anxious to see what Hooker can do, there's a great chance they deem him finally ramped up and ready to make the trip to LA."I feel good right now," Hooker explained in July. " ... Physically, I feel great. No setbacks as far as where I'm at in the proce s of recovery and things have been going good. So now it's just taking my time and working back into playing football again. You figure out I've been out a year, so they're taking their time with me and working me back into the proce s slowly and surely." That is precisely the plan for head coach Mike McCarthy and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, the latter looking to greatly improve a putrid unit in Year 1 of his multi-year deal. Hooker hasn't taken a game rep since Week 2 of last season, and the Cowboys are easing him into the mix in deliberate fashion. Noting the hardest part of his recovery was "gaining the strength back" in his lower leg, Hooker actually struck up a friendship with Kazee in March -- the two being able to both empathize and share tips on how to get back to prime form sooner than later. DAL FS #28 "I met him on
Dellin Betances Jersey the visit in the spring ," said Hooker of Kazee. "I kind of knew him a little bit before. Obviously, what he did a couple of years ago, and stuff like that. Him being a great player as well."And then on the visit -- we clicked on the visit. We chopped it up. Both going through the same injury. Even still to this day, that's probably one of the guys I talked to the most." At minimum, Hooker and Kazee will continue battling for the starting role at free safety as the year rolls along, and that's something the Cowboys are all in for. Despite having had a run-in with the injury bug on several occasions already in his otherwise promising career, Hooker is focused on what happens next."I really don't got nothing to prove," he said. "For me right now, it's just about getting out there and having fun and playing the game. Anybody that watched me play, any time I played and I was healthy, I made an impact
C.C. Sabathia Jersey on the games I played. For me, it ain't about what I got to prove."It's about me staying available and stay healthy at this point."That's saying a mouthful for the former consensus All-American -- who now joins and as notable Buckeyes on the Cowboys' roster who also spent time together at Ohio State. Hooker underwent surgery on two separate occasions (torn labrum in his hip and sports hernia); suffered a groin injury to start training camp with the Colts as a rookie in 2017 before finishing his first year as a pro on injured reserve due to a torn ACL and MCL; mi sed time in 2018 with a hip and a foot injury; and then mi sed three games in 2019 with a torn meniscus in his knee that required surgery to repair. And, as noted, he'd go on to mi s all but two games in 2020 with the torn Achilles. It's been one bad break after another for Hooker, who is otherwise one of the best safety prospects the NFL has seen in a long time."It was frustrating for me at first, but now it comes with the game," said Hooker. "Every football player that plays the game, plays it in this system, specifically, they get something back whether it's a torn labrum whatever the case may be. For me, it's not really frustrating now; it's just about trusting it and trusting the proce s for me. Staying confident knowing, believing in my abilities and what I can do."I feel like that was a big part of me getting back as fast as I did, feeling how I do now is just believing as a player in my abilities that the gifts that God gave me." Those gifts are plentiful, as evidenced by the 25-year-old having seven career interceptions despite his durability i sues. And he feels there's no better place to get back to work than with Quinn and the Cowboys in a scheme he feels greatly suited to excel in."The guys here -- I feel like a great system," he said of his decision to choose Dallas over six or seven other teams that showed interest this offseason. "A lot of fans, great players, players willing to be coaches for me, teaching me how the system works, plays and stuff like that. Just the system -- it's similar to what system I was in before."I feel like this is the perfect place for me for my decision. It pretty much came out to they felt it was the same thing, or vice versa, and so it just came to an easy decision for me. I felt like this is where home was at."If Hooker can stay healthy and produce like the Cowboys saw him do for the Colts, he'll have a chance
Phil Rizzuto Jersey to stick around awhile. His first test will be to make things difficult for Herbert in a matchup that will most definitely be one to watch
