The Cowboys were without wide receiver Amari Cooper for two weeks due to a positive test for COVID-19. On Thursday night, he returned to the field for a showdown with the Saints.
Since the Cowboys wanted to ease the veteran wideout back into the lineup, Cooper's role on Thursday night wasn't very large. He finished the game with two receptions for 41 yards.
During his postgame press conference, Cooper admit that it was tough watching the Cowboys from home the past two games. The NFL's health and safety protocols required him to quarantine for at least 10 days.
"It was tough,” Cooper said following the win. “[Michael] Jordan played with the flu, you know? That’s how I looked at it. It was a restriction of not being able to play with what I had. It was tough, knowing that I could physically gone out there and played, but the restrictions didn’t allow me to do so.”
Jordan's famous "Flu Game" against the Jazz remains one of the most iconic moments in sports to this day. Despite being under the weather, the Hall of Famer finished Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals with 38 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Sports fans weren't exactly thrilled that Cooper compared his return to the gridiron to the "Flu Game." As a result, they shared their responses to Cooper's comments on social media.
Cooper's recovery timeline would have been different had he received the COVID-19 vaccine.
The NFL rules state that a vaccinated player who tests positive for COVID-19 can return to the active roster if he's asymptomatic for 48 hours and produces two negative PCR tests 24 hours apart.
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