(SportsRadio 610) - Texans wide receiver Brandin Cooks took his typical Wednesday rest day as the Texans prepare to host the Tennessee Titans this Sunday.
What wasn’t typical about Wednesday was Cooks not taking the podium to answer questions from media members, as he usually does along with head coach Lovie Smith and quarterback Davis Mills.
A team spokesperson told reporters Cooks was getting his lift done at the time, preventing him from making his regularly scheduled visit with the media.
As the Texans (1-4-1) enter week eight set to face Derrick Henry and the Titans, rumors and reports have begun to heat up regarding Cooks and his status with the Texans.
Cooks, 29, coming off a 2021 season in which he compiled a career-high 90 catches and a second straight season of at least 1,000 yards receiving, is not on that same pace this year.
The nine-year pro has struggled with drops this season, though he still leads the team with 28 catches and is second on the team behind Nico Collins with 281 yards receiving.
The Texans signed Cooks to an extension to stay with the team this past April, to help develop Davis Mills. But the exorbitant deal could present problems if in fact the Texans try to move him ahead of the Nov. 1 trade deadline.
Cooks and the Texans inked a two-year, $39 million deal, including a $1.17 million base salary for the 2022 season. The salary balloons to $18 million in 2023 and $13 million in 2024.
The Texans and Cooks restructured the deal in September to convert more than $800,000 of his base in 2021 to a signing bonus. That adjustment created more than $500,000 in cap room for the team.
Moving on from Cooks, regardless of what the Texans could get in exchange for him at this point, could be challenging given the $34.2 million and $8.1 million in dead cap on his contract in ‘23 and ‘24, respectively.
The cap hit the Texans face is $26.6 million and $24.6 million, respectively, in the last two years of Cooks’ contract.
According to the latest reports, the Texans have garnered interest in Cooks from the Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams.
With the Texans currently commanding 12 selections in the 2023 NFL Draft, if they can continue to accumulate draft capital that can only aid in what should be their overall goal of solidifying the most important position on the team next off season: quarterback.
That is, of course, if they decide that Davis Mills is not a long term solution for the future and there are 12 more games remaining in this season to help answer that question.
The immediate question is, what could the Texans get for Cooks?
He has been dealt three times already in his career. In 2017, the Saints sent him to New England for first-and-third round picks. In 2018, the Patriots sent Cooks to the Rams for first-and-sixth round picks. In 2020, the Rams shipped Cooks to the Texans for a second-round pick.
Only one player since 1980 has been moved more times than Cooks already, and that’s former running back and Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson, who was dealt four times during a seven-year stretch in his 12-year career.
The Texans were reportedly seeking a second-round pick in return for Cooks prior to them signing him to an extension back in April. If teams thought Cooks was still worth a second-round pick at that juncture, one would have made the move.
But they didn’t.
The asking price this go around could be another day-two pick, but it wouldn’t necessarily be shocking to see the Texans part ways with the veteran receiver for a package of lower round picks.
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Shaun Bijani has spent the last 16 years covering the Houston sports scene for SportsRadio 610. Follow him on Twitter @ShaunBijani.
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