DALLAS — Editor's note: Get exclusive Cowboys content you'll only find with WFAA main sports anchor Joe Trahan's weekly Cowboys newsletter. The Playbook drops each Friday and gets you ready for each football weekend. Sign up here: wfaa.com/playbook.
After dealing with a season-ending injury and months of rehab, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup is expected to make his return to the field in Week 3.
The Cowboys (1-1) play the New York Giants (2-0) on Monday at MetLife Stadium and will likely have more offensive firepower with Gallup back in the mix.
In Week 16 last season during a 25-22 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Gallup tore his ACL, which ended his season. He suffered the injury in the second quarter as he hauled in a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dak Prescott.
He finished the season with 35 catches for 445 yards and two touchdowns.
During the offseason, Dallas signed Gallup to a five-year, $57 million contract in free agency. The 6-foot-1-inch, 198-pounder was able to focus on rehab and not also have to integrate into a new offense with a new team.
Gallup told reporters in Oxnard, Calif., during training camp in late July that he wasn't going to be able to go against the Buccaneers.
"That’s not a reasonable possibility," said Gallup. "It’s not a reasonable possibility.”
If Gallup does return, this would be his first game with Cooper Rush at quarterback since he missed the one game Rush played in last season, against the Minnesota Vikings, with a calf injury.
Gallup will join CeeDee Lamb and Noah Brown as the main wide receiver targets for Rush.
The Cowboys drafted the Georgia-native wide receiver in 2018, where he has played his entire NFL career up to this point.
Cowboys starting quarterback Dak Prescott is currently recovering from a broken thumb on his throwing hand. Cowboys owner, president, and general manager Jerry Jones believes the two-time Pro Bowler will be available to go sooner rather than later.
"Don’t know that anybody knows when he can get into the strength area where he can grasp [the ball], then you’ll see probably a real advancement in his timeline," Jones told "Shan & RJ" on 105.3 "The Fan" [KRLD-FM] on Tuesday. "I don’t know when that is. I do know that I think after a good airing out last week, everybody recognizes that he will be back sooner rather than later as far as the timeline. It really could be as minimal as two weeks up here in my mind."