Brandin Cooks is looking for improved production with the Dallas Cowboys in 2024.

The Cowboys wide receiver started slow during his first season in Dallas in 2023, but came on as he grew more comfortable within the offense and quarterback Dak Prescott. Cooks finished the season with 54 receptions for 657 yards and eight touchdowns, tied for the second-highest of Cooks’ career. Cooks caught five of his eight touchdown receptions in the final seven games of the season, including a scoring catch in each of the final three games.

With a year of experience playing with Prescott, expectations are high that Cooks will have a strong season. Regardless of what type of season the former Oregon State Beavers’ star produces, the 2024 season will be his last in Dallas, according Sayre Bedinger of the “The Landry Hat.”

“With so many prominent free agents set to hit the market for the Cowboys in 2025, it’s difficult to see a path for Cooks back to the roster unless he signs a team-friendly bargain.”

Both Cooks and fellow wide receiver CeeDee Lamb will be free agents following the 2024 season. Lamb, who posted a career year with an NFL-high 135 receptions for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns that resulted in a first-team All-Pro selection, is the clear No. 1 wide receiver with the Cowboys.

The Cowboys are expected to sign Prescott to a massive extension and they also expected to sign linebacker Micah Parsons to a big-money, multi-year deal. The Cowboys will almost certainly choose to re-sign Lamb, who is 25 and five years younger than Cooks.

If Cooks produces a strong season, he will get offers from other teams that will likely be worth far more than a “team-friendly bargain” with the Cowboys.

If you are a football fan that likes to follow offensive and defensive line play, chances are you have heard of Brandon Thorn. Whether it’s his Substack “Trench Warfare” or his work at Establish the Run, Thorn is has put in the work to become one of the most respected voices in the community. All of this also helped earn him earn an invite to Duke Manyweather’s “OL Masterminds” summit.

Naturally, Thorn really enjoys breaking down a Detroit Lions player you often read about on Pride of Detroit—first team All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell. Honestly, who wouldn’t?

So when Oregon’s offensive line coach, A’lique Terry (who was a graduate assistant that worked with the OL when Sewell was in college), joined his show, you knew it was only a matter of time until Sewell’s named was mentioned.

“We say all the time, it’s not a hog game anymore,” said Terry of the evolution of offensive linemen. “We want big lions. We want big cats, We want dudes that can run, jump, explode.”

Much like Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has made it a point to get Sewell into space, it was even a point of emphasis for the staff in Eugene as well.

“It got to a point where the OC (offensive coordinator) at the time was making sure we called a screen a quarter to get Penei out into space. You can utilize your biggest athletes in the game plan.”

You can watch the entire clip from Thorn and Terry below:

And now, onto the rest of today’s notes:

• Okay, Chris. We are listening.

• Lions’ quarterback Jared Goff was money inside the redzone during the 2023 season.

• I didn’t even need to read the caption. When I see Jahmyr Gibbs, I retweet.

A wildfire just east of the Redmond Airport is 25% contained, fire officials said Sunday evening.

On Saturday afternoon, the McCaffery Fire spurred Level 3 “GO NOW” evacuations for an area along the border between Deschutes and Crook counties, including a subdivision in the Powell Butte area. All evacuations have now been downgraded to a Level 2 “BE SET” status, though fire officials urged residents of the area to remain vigilant in case of a change in status or fire behavior.

Level 2 is an evacuation warning, which means there’s a high probability of a need to evacuate. People should be ready to evacuate by packing necessary items and preparing their family, pets and car for potential departure from home.

The blaze has charred 458 acres, according to Central Oregon Fire Info.

“Firefighters caught a few spot fires outside of containment lines today but held all fires at under 1 acre with the support of helicopters cooling hot spots,” the organization reported on social media Sunday evening.

A few local roads in the area remain closed, but Oregon Highway 126 was open. The Redmond Airport, which was closed to passenger airline flights for several hours on Saturday to allow priority use by firefighting aircraft, is open and operating normally.

Wildfire caused evacuations east of Redmond, temporary closure of airport

Although fire crews made progress, weather conditions remain hot and dry in the area.

According to the National Weather Service, Redmond experienced a record high temperature on Sunday of 103 F, breaking the old record of 100 F for July 7, which was set in 1968. Central Oregon remains under an “Excessive Heat Warning” until at least Wednesday evening.