According to Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, Texans WR Brandin Cooks has returned to the team and is expected to play going forward this season.
However, Rapoport and Garafolo report Cooks has been stripped of his status as a team captain.
Houston and particularly HC Lovie Smith were upset with how Cooks handled things when he wasn’t dealt before the trade deadline, including his public comments on social media.
Rapoport and Garafolo add trade talks figure to resume this offseason, though the Texans will still have the same issues with Cooks’ $18 million guaranteed base salary in 2023 that blocked a deal from getting done in October.
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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