According to Aaron Wilson, a league source says things are quiet right now in trade talks for Texans WR Brandin Cooks.
“It’s status quo right now with Cooks,” they said. “Nothing has changed in the past few days. There’s still time to get something done.”
Wilson notes several teams have inquired about Cooks — including the Chiefs, Giants, Packers, Rams and Vikings — and the Texans are willing to deal him.
However, the Texans want significant draft capital for Cooks and there’s some hesitancy on the part of interested teams due to Cooks’ $18 million guaranteed salary in 2023. Wilson adds the Rams have explored trade scenarios for Cooks but nothing is moving quickly or considered developing at this time.
Cooks was asked after Sunday’s game about the trade speculation and declined to comment.
“That’s internal,” he said. “I’m not worried about that, ifs, buts, ands. It is what it is. .. We’ll keep that internal. With all due respect, we’re not going to talk about that right now in the media.”
Cooks is a solid veteran player with six 1,000-yard seasons under his belt, and there are a number of teams that could use a player like that. It’s hard to see another team committing to guaranteeing $18 million for a receiver who will be 30 next season, however.
Cooks, 29, is a former first-round pick of the Saints back in 2014. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $8.4 million contract when he was traded to the Patriots in 2017.
New England later picked up his fifth-year option for the 2018 season before trading him to the Rams for first- and sixth-round picks. From there, Cooks agreed to a five-year extension worth $81 million with Los Angeles only to be traded to the Texans.
Cooks was set to make a base salary of $12.5 million for the 2022 season when he agreed to a two-year, $39.6 million extension with Houston.
In 2022, Cooks has appeared in seven games for the Texans and caught 32 passes on 53 targets for 354 yards receiving and one touchdown.
We’ll have more on Cooks as the news is available.
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