Brandin Cooks open to a return to the Cowboys only if they plan to use him "right"

Four teams have traded Brandin Cooks, but the wide receiver has never been a free agent. There is a first time for everything.

Cooks, who has played 10 seasons, is scheduled to hit free agency for the first time next week.

"I'm expecting a good free agency since this is the first time that I would be a free agent in my career, but I'm also open to returning to Dallas," Cooks told Josina Anderson of The Exhibit. "At the end of the day I'm just trying to win."

Cooks missed seven games with a knee infection after arthroscopic surgery last season. He had career lows with 26 receptions for 259 yards, and he scored three touchdowns.

"I am fully healthy and have nothing to hide," Cooks told Anderson. "If a quarterback wants to go throw somewhere, I could get on a plane and catch for him right now."

Cooks has had six 1,000-yard seasons but none since 2021. In two seasons in Dallas, he had 80 receptions for 916 yards and 11 touchdowns.

He is open to a return to Dallas, but there are no signs the Cowboys are interested in his return.

"I have a good relationship with Dak [Prescott], the Jones family and Cee Dee [Lamb]," Cooks said. "It's just one of those things where they have to focus on what they have to get done first, too. I would love to play with the Cowboys, at the same time they would have to use me right. I don’t think they fully used me to my strengths."