Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Gallup updates timeline on return from injury

When the Dallas Cowboys take the field for Week 1, they’ll likely be shorthanded at wide receiver. That’s the sense from Michael Gallup’s media session at training camp on Thursday, at least.

Gallup told reporters he likely won’t play in the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He tore his ACL in January and is starting training camp on the PUP list.

“We got a little ways to go,” Gallup said, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “It’s gotta get a little bit stronger. … I’m ready to get back out there and help the team win.”

Last year, Gallup started Week 1 before missing seven games with an ankle injury he suffered in that matchup. In nine appearances, he totaled 445 receiving yards and two touchdowns before the torn ACL cut his season short.

Once he gets back in the lineup, he’s all but certain to play a big part at wide receiver after the Cowboys traded Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns. But his absence means CeeDee Lamb will remain the biggest target for Dak Prescott, but Noah Brown and James Washington are likely to get more looks, as well.

Cowboys add four players to PUP list

The Dallas Cowboys have added wide receiver Michael Gallup and rookies Dontario Drummond, Quandre Mosley and Aaron Hansford to their PUP (players unable to perform) list for the beginning of training camp, according to Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson.

While Drummond, Mosley and Hansford are unproven commodities on the Cowboys, Gallup is set to become one of Dak Prescott‘s primary targets during the 2022 NFL season. Gallup played just eight games in 2022 thanks to a season-ending ACL tear, but recorded 35 catches for 445 yards and two touchdowns before his season was cut in half.

The Cowboys can activate Gallup and the rest of the injured players from the PUP list at any point during camp and preseason. If any of the four were to start the regular season on PUP, they would stay on the reserve list for a minimum of four weeks.