Cowboys activate WR Michael Gallup from IR

After a lengthy ramp-up period, Michael Gallup will make his long-awaited return soon. The Cowboys announced they activated the fourth-year wide receiver from injured reserve Saturday.

Gallup has missed the past seven games for Dallas, which placed him on IR after a calf injury took him out of the team’s Week 1 loss to the Buccaneers. Gallup returned to practice nearly three weeks ago, moving this to a deadline situation. Dallas had just two days left to activate Gallup or he would have gone on season-ending IR.

Should Gallup be back in uniform Sunday, that will certainly aid a Cowboys team coming off by far its worst game of the season. Dak Prescott struggled in his return from a calf ailment, and the Cowboys needed multiple garbage-time scores to pull within two touchdowns of the Broncos. Prescott should soon have his full receiver array available.

The Cowboys quarterback has not finished a game with his top three targets on the field since before his 2020 injury. Gallup, Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb played together last season, but most of this trio’s initial work came with backup quarterbacks. Gallup exceeded 1,100 yards in 2019 and finished with 843 and five touchdowns last season.

With Dallas unlikely to bring back the Cooper-Lamb-Gallup trio in 2022, this second-half stretch proves key for Gallup’s future. The Cowboys are not planning to discuss extensions with contract-year players until after the season ends, and after missing half this season, the former third-round pick will need to re-establish his momentum ahead of a potential free-agency run.