Back in the early ’90s, if you were a Cowboys fan, Sundays meant watching Michael Irvin do his thing—snagging impossible catches, talking trash, and dragging defenders like they were just extra accessories. He wasn’t just a wide receiver; he was the playmaker. Take the Super Bowl XXVII against the Buffalo Bills, for instance. The man caught six passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns. And get this, his two TDs came in the second quarter in 18 seconds.

And when he teamed up with Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith? That trio was pure magic, racking up three Super Bowl rings together. Fast forward to now, and even after hanging up his cleats, Irvin is still around the game. The Cowboys’ legend is now doing TV gigs, sharing his takes, and always repping the Cowboys.

Whether giving his takes on the Cowboys’ new head coach a few months back or reviewing his former team’s draft picks, Irvin still has that fire for the Cowboys. So, when he hints at a comeback for the team on Friday, even if it was a tease, Dallas Nation and the teammates alike can’t help but get a little excited. And we aren’t just talking about the fans. Nope.

In fact, we’re talking about the former Cowboys quarterback, Troy Aikman. Let’s get to the core of it. On Thursday night, the three-time Super Bowl-winning wideout shared a picture of himself from the gym. Irvin looked shredded, but it was his caption that sent Cowboys Nation into a frenzy. “If we @dallascowboys need a receiver!!!!!!!!!!” Irvin captioned.

Right after that went down, Aikman hopped up on his Instagram, because how could he stop himself, and re-shared Irvin’s mirror selfie in his story. And let’s just say Aikman wasn’t sugarcoating it, even though he was being funny. “Lookin’ a lil’ skinny Playmaker – have to make you a slot receiver,” Aikman wrote. A transition from a former outside receiver to a slot receiver? Nah, Irvin’s not going to like it.

Back in his days, Irvin was that 6’6” tall and weighed over 200 pounds who wasn’t just out there running routes—he was bulldozing corners. To be more precise, Michael Irvin was that physical, the league had to tweak rules ’cause guys were trying to copy his smash-mouth style, literally and figuratively. Remember the 2004 emphasis on illegal contact, defensive holding, and pass interference penalties? Let’s just say Irvin kind of influenced that in one way or another.

So Aikman suggesting him to be a slot receiver? That sounds a bit awkward. But let’s not kid ourselves—Irvin, at 59, is shredded and seems fit, but he’s definitely not returning to the NFL. Sure, the Cowboys are in need of a WR2 for CeeDee Lamb, but Michael Irvin? It’s unlikely.

The Cowboys and their WR woes that led Michael Irvin to consider a return

During the NFL draft last week, the Cowboys were interested in Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan as their second receiving option. However, the Panthers jumped in and snagged him first—leaving the Cowboys stuck to find a WR2 for CeeDee Lamb. For the time being, Dallas surely has 12 receivers on their roster, but selecting a WR to complement Lamb? It’s a bit of a tough task for Jerry Jones and crew.

“I would start with [Jonathan] Mingo and guys like Jalen Tolbert, and the whole crew like [Ryan] Flournoy,” the Cowboys’ executive vice president and director of player personnel, Stephen Jones, said. “Those guys have potential to be a No. 2, but they’re not there yet. They haven’t done it. They haven’t hit that level yet, and that’s why we have had an interest in upgrading that room.” The Cowboys failed to draft a receiver in the draft, and it seems like they’re open to add a top-tier wideout on their roster.

Enter Amari Cooper, who’s currently a free agent and looking for a team. The 30-year-old wideout spent a few years in Dallas before spending two and a half years in Cleveland and a brief stint with the Bills. After playing eight games with the Bills in the last season, the Buffalo team parted ways with the veteran WR. That’s where ESPN’s Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram comes in.

Last month, Harris reported that there’s a building interest in the team to re-sign Amari Cooper, who spent over three seasons with the team and had a couple of 1,000+ yard season. Back in 2018, the Cowboys already traded a first-round pick for Cooper, and if the team’s looking to sign a WR2, it’s likely that they could bring him back.