Disappointed he was not traded at this week’s deadline, Brandin Cooks has not practiced leading up to the Texans’ Week 9 matchup with the Eagles. The disgruntled wide receiver will not play against Philadelphia on Thursday night, Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweets.
Cooks is not at the team’s facility today, though Mike Garafolo of NFL.com adds (via Twitter) the team will try to circle back to this issue Friday. After not being traded by Tuesday’s deadline, Cooks sent out a tweet appearing to indicate frustration with the Texans.
Houston’s options are limited with Cooks, until trading resumes in 2023 at least, but we did see a similar situation play out between Odell Beckham Jr. and the Browns last year. After the Browns did not trade Beckham at last year’s deadline, Beckham maneuvered his way out of Cleveland via release. Cooks, who joined Beckham in the 2014 draft class, missing a game may be the start of him attempting a similar strategy.
While this is a fluid situation, Werder adds a release is unlikely (Twitter link). It would cost the Texans $27.3MM in dead money to move on from a lucrative contract they agreed to in April. Cooks, 29, has gone from signing a two-year, $39MM Texans extension in April to being a healthy scratch by midseason.
This issue does indeed stem from Cooks wanting to be traded to a contender, with Tom Pelissero of NFL.com adding (video link) the Rams joined the Cowboys in being involved in talks with the Texans. Houston discussed Cooks trades up until the deadline; the Cowboys talked to Texas’ AFC franchise in the final hour of 2022 NFL trading. The Giants also called on Cooks, who was linked to the Chiefs, Packers and Vikings as well. No deal transpired, leading to this strange chapter of the oft-traded wideout’s career.
Months before Cooks signed a new deal with the Texans, he said he did not want to be traded for a fourth time. The Saints sent Cooks to the Patriots in 2017, while trades to the Rams (2018) and Texans (2020) later commenced. It is worth wondering if Cooks would be elsewhere now if he did not sign a Texans extension. That deal calls for an $18MM guaranteed base salary in 2023; that figure dissuaded teams from acquiring Cooks.
The six-time 1,000-yard receiver was linked to a willingness to give up guaranteed money to facilitate a trade to the Rams. That would indicate a desire to be moved, but Cooks received $36MM in guarantees from the Texans upon signing that extension. He seems to have changed…