Brandin Cooks Ditching Dangerous Hobby Before Regular Season Begins

One of the many reasons to be bullish about the Cowboys this season is the addition of Brandin Cooks to this offense. The perennial 1,000-yard threat provides Dak Prescott the true WR2 he was missing last year after Amari Cooper was traded away, and the potential of a Cooks-CeeDee Lamb duo is mouth-watering.

Everyone knows how big of a year this is for Dallas, which has a legit path to contending. That's why it's great to see Cooks giving up his beloved, but dangerous, hobby before the season begins.

Cooks told reporters on Tuesday that he is hanging up his pilot's cap with Week 1 right around the corner. The veteran wideout obtained his license to fly small aircraft on the side, and he put it to use this past weekend by taking teammates Micah Parsons and Stephon Gilmore in the sky for a unique view of Seattle.

"“We had fun. Thankful that my guys trusted me to get up there. But now it’s focus on football … I will never do something like that obviously in the regular season. Flip the switch. No more flying this year.”"

- Brandin Cooks, via ESPN's Todd Archer

Cooks' bonding activity sent some Cowboys fans into a full-on panic, and it's hard to blame them. Though Cooks has the license and experience, catastrophe can strike at any time. No one wants to think about the worst-case scenario unfolding, but it comes with the job of managing a football team -- especially one that could win a Super Bowl.

Thankfully, we won't have to worry about Cooks or any of his teammates going on any extracurricular flights anytime soon. Even he admits it's time to "flip the switch" and make competing for a title his lone priority.

Cooks' ability to put his team before himself shows just how mature of a leader he is. Everyone on the roster will need to make sacrifices if this squad is to live up to its potential, and he's setting a great example before the regular season even kicks off.