Report: Brandin Cooks, Future Pick Traded to Texans from Rams for 2nd-Round Pick

The Los Angeles Rams reportedly traded wide receiver Brandin Cooks to the Houston Texans.

On Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the two teams are "in the process" of completing the trade.

John McClain of the Houston Chronicle then reported the Texans traded the 57th pick in this year's draft to Los Angeles for Cooks and a 2022 fourth-rounder.

NFL.com's Mike Silver foreshadowed this move on March 16: 

Cooks was drafted 20th overall by the New Orleans Saints in the 2014 NFL draft. The Oregon State product was consistently productive from 2014 to '16 for the Saints with 2,861 yards and 20 touchdowns on 215 catches across 42 games (32 starts) overall. He led all New Orleans receivers in 2015 with 1,138 yards and nine touchdowns on 84 catches.

The 26-year-old was traded to the New England Patriots in March 2017, where he recorded 1,082 yards and seven touchdowns on 65 catches across games for the Pats the ensuing season. 

Cooks has been in L.A. since the Patriots traded him to the Rams in April 2018.

Cooks excelled during the 2018 campaign with a career-high 1,204 yards to go with five touchdowns on 80 catches across 16 regular-season starts—his fourth consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season—before contributing two 100-yard postseason games during the Rams' Super Bowl LIII run. He caught eight passes for 120 yards against the Patriots in the Super Bowl, and his former team won 13-3.

In 2019, Cooks appeared in fewer than all 16 regular-season games for the first time since his rookie campaign. He missed two games with a concussion. He has five known concussions since entering the NFL (h/t NFL.com's Kevin Patra).

Even while suffering through concussions last season, Cooks told ESPN's Lindsey Thiry that retirement "never went through my mind." He finished with 583 yards and two touchdowns on 42 catches—the lowest marks since his 10-game rookie year.

Cooks is owed $8 million in base salary for 2020, per Spotrac, as part of the five-year, $81 million extension he signed with the Rams once he was traded to the team. He is not scheduled to hit free agency until 2024.

With Houston, Cooks can become a go-to option in the aerial attack after the AFC South team traded away DeAndre Hopkins earlier this offseason.