4 ideal Brandin Cooks trade scenarios

Houston Texans wide receiver Brandin Cooks is no stranger to changing scenery as he’s played for four teams in his eight-year NFL career. Will he be on the move again?

Cooks has been toiling away the last two seasons with one of the most poorly run organizations in football, the Houston Texans. Even though he’s accumulated back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons, Cooks could be on the short end of a Texans rebuild. The fact is, any team that’s looking to stretch the field and add a reliable scoring option should be looking at Cooks. 

The former Oregon State Beaver will attract several suitors this offseason despite much of the spotlight being on fellow counterparts such as Davante Adams and Chris Godwin. Let’s take a look at some plausible scenarios.

Brandin Cooks could reunite with his former offensive coordinator

A scenario that makes a lot of sense would see Cooks reuniting with his old offensive coordinator, who is now the Las Vegas Raiders head coach, Josh McDaniels. The Silver and Black need a number one wideout and they need one now. Drafting a wide receiver could help but acquiring a proven talent such as Cooks is an instant upgrade.

Back in 2017, Cooks had one of his most explosive seasons under McDaniels, when he averaged 16.6 yards per reception and found the end zone a total of seven times.

Per Spotrac, Cooks’ salary for his final contractual year is $12.5 million, which means any team, including the Raiders, would want to restructure a deal. A scenario involving the Raiders and the Texans would have to include one of Vegas’s fifth-round picks this year and possibly a fourth-round selection in 2023.

The Dallas Cowboys might soon need a wide receiver

Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys will be in a tough spot financially this offseason and will soon need to decide the fate of Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup. Regardless, Dak Prescott still needs a top wide receiver, so perhaps trading for Cooks makes sense.

Bleacher Report’s Kevin Knox recently stated that the Cowboys might have to surrender upwards of a second-round pick. That’s a high price for a team that needs to draft an offensive lineman and possibly a safety within the NFL Draft’s first three rounds.

However, Jones could work some of his magic, and perhaps offering a third-round next year with another mid-round choice in April could be enough to sway the Texans.

Brandin Cooks on the Arizona Cardinals make sense

The news surrounding the Arizona Cardinals and their quarterback, Kyler Murray, has been anything but positive. Social media controversies aside, the Cardinals’ brain trust could go a long way toward making Murray feel better by acquiring Cooks.

Realistically speaking, Murray would have DeAndre Hopkins, Rondale Moore, and Antoine Wesley as his primary targets in 2022. Not terrible, but not overly great either. If you plug in Cooks, the Cardinals will have a receiving option that had an average depth of target of 11.8 and 10.5 in the last two years, respectively.

The Cardinals could jettison a second-round pick to the Texans for Cooks and his polished route-running depending on how the offseason plays out for them and their franchise quarterback.

Related: Updated NFL trade rumors

Brandin Cooks could make his way back to the New England Patriots

While McDaniels is no longer with the New England Patriots, the team could be in the market for a wide receiver upgrade. Bill Belichick surely wouldn’t mind getting someone to stretch the field, by effect, opening things up for Jakobi Meyers and Hunter Henry.

Unlike the other scenarios, this one has Pats written all over it. We’ve all seen Belichick and the team’s brass swing some trades that have left us bewildered. This is the same man that once swung a fourth-round pick for Randy Moss.

Another major factor that makes this scenario seem possible is Belichick’s connection to the two men who run the Texans, Jack Easterby and Nick Caserio, both from the Patriots’ organizational tree. New England would surely like to give their quarterback, Mac Jones, more weapons, and Cooks fits the bill.