Getty images Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns.
The Cleveland Browns successfully mined the state of Texas for their starting quarterback and No. 1 wide receiver, and should be looking back that way for yet another upgrade.
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report on February 9 suggested the Browns pursue a trade that brings Houston Texans wide receiver Brandin Cooks to Cleveland in exchange for a 2023 third-round pick (No. 99) as well as another third-round selection in 2024. He went so far as to dub the hypothetical deal as one that could turn the Browns into a Super Bowl contender next season.
The Cleveland Browns are all-in on Deshaun Watson. They gave up six draft picks, including three first-rounders, to hand him a $230 million guaranteed contract last March. Now they have to make sure that he has everything he needs to be successful.
Bringing in a legitimate No. 2 receiver who could push Donovan Peoples-Jones to the No. 3 role would be ideal. Brandin Cooks is a perfect fit.
Cooks, Watson Have History From Days in Houston
GettyWide receiver Brandin Cooks of the Houston Texans warms up prior to a game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on November 13, 2022 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
A deal for Cooks would create a reunion between the receiver and Watson in Cleveland.
The two played together with the Texans in 2020 and helped each other to significant success. Watson posted a career year that season, completing 70.2% of his passes for a league-leading 4,823 yards, 33 touchdowns and just seven interceptions, per Pro Football Reference. Cooks caught 81 passes for 1,150 yards and six touchdowns across 15 regular season appearances.
The Texans decided to sit Watson out for the entirety of the following season due to the same off-field issues of alleged sexual misconduct that resulted in the NFL suspending the quarterback for the first 11 games of the 2022 campaign.
Cooks has languished in Houston over the last two years and pushed for a trade this season, though none ever came to fruition. Despite an abysmal run by the team, Cooks has remained productive. He produced another season of 1,000-plus yards on 90 catches and scored six times in 2021, then put up 699 yards and three touchdowns on 57 grabs last year.
Browns Passing Game Becomes Major Threat Via Trade For Cooks
GettyWide receiver Amari Cooper of the Cleveland Browns makes a catch during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 22, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Still a big-play deep threat entering his 10th NFL campaign, Cooks would be a fitting complement to WR1 Amari Cooper, who the Browns acquired in a trade last offseason from the Dallas Cowboys.
Cooper had a resurgent campaign of 78 catches for 1,160 yards and nine touchdowns, despite two different starting QBs, along with all of the off-field turmoil and on-field obstacles that accompanied Watson’s return to active status.
The three-headed monster of Cooper, Cooks and tight end David Njoku with a re-acclimated Watson under center would make it tough for even the best of NFL defenses to match up. Paired with a solid running game behind one of the league’s best offensive lines, Cooks would complete an offensive vision for the Browns that would be, at least on paper, formidable.
The biggest issue is Cooks’ contract. He is signed through 2024 and is scheduled to make upwards of $40 million on the deal. His salary cap number next season is a whopping $26.5 million, which would complicate a move to a Browns team that is currently $13.3 million over the cap already in 2023.
However, the ownership in Cleveland has made it clear that there is a green light to spend, meaning if general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski deem Cooks to be both available and necessary, they can figure out a way to get a deal done.