Brandin Cooks Trade Rumors: 'Texans Have Received Multiple Calls' on WR

Several teams have reportedly targeted Houston Texans wide receiver Brandin Cooks in trade talks. 

"I was told that the Texans have received multiple calls on Cooks," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said Sunday on SportsCenter. "That teams have some interest. He's a classic deep threat that could fit in a lot of offenses. He has a concussion history...a bit of an issue. He's been traded a lot, but he can always play. He's traded a lot because he's very good and he's very fast."

Cooks, 28, is heading into the final year of his contract and will make $12.5 million next season.

The Texans are in the infancy stages of a multiyear rebuild, so trading Cooks would make some level of sense. It's unlikely he's considered a piece of the long-term core, though he did flash chemistry with rookie quarterback Davis Mills last season. A team would likely have to give up a pick better than what the compensatory selection the Texans would receive by allowing him to leave in free agency next offseason.

Despite producing six 1,000-yard seasons over his eight-year NFL career, Cooks has already played for four NFL teams. The Texans acquired him from the Los Angeles Rams in 2020 as an attempted replacement for DeAndre Hopkins, who the team had traded earlier that offseason. 

Cooks has responded with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, but the team is a combined 8-25. After getting a bevy of picks as part of the Deshaun Watson trade to Cleveland, the Texans can finally begin their rebuild in earnest. Moving Cooks could be another way to add young talent to the roster.