Getty Brandin Cooks #13 of the Houston Texans carries the ball following his reception as Shaquill Griffin #26 of the Jacksonville Jaguars attempts the tackle during the second quarter at NRG Stadium on September 12, 2021 in Houston, Texas.
With the possibility of offensive weapons on the move this offseason, the Dallas Cowboys will likely need to reload at receiver.
Besides wide receiver Michael Gallup potentially leaving in free agency, there’s a lot of speculation about fellow WR Amari Cooper leaving Dallas this offseason in a trade. If one or both of those things happen, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys will need to make moves.
With quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and running back Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas has a solid trio. But NFL teams don’t win Super Bowls with just a few players, and they don’t win Super Bowls without contributors who have been there.
This is where veteran Houston Texans receiver Brandin Cooks comes in. Cooks has been one of the most recognizable names in the NFL for the past decade or so, and for good reason. He has 7917 total receiving yards and 48 total touchdowns over his eight seasons in the league, while also having championship experience.
Cooks hasn’t won a Super Bowl, but played in two with the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams. Winning a title is obviously better than losing one, but Cooks would be a playmaker that also knows what it takes to succeed.
The primary question for a Cooks deal is: what would it take to pry away the receiver from the Texans?
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Cooks’ Value in 2022
For Cooks to join the Cowboys, Jones and Dallas would have to pony up to the Texans. In fact, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox thinks that a team would have to trade a second-round pick for the former Oregon State star.
That’s a high price to pay, but proven NFL quality is almost always worth trading draft picks for, especially considering that the Cowboys are coming off a division title win and trip to the playoffs.
However, there’s reason to think Cooks could be a bit cheaper than B/R’s estimation. This is due to the possibility that Cooks wants out of Houston, as the 28-year-old receiver seemingly shared his displeasure in a since-deleted Tweet after the team traded Melvin Ingram II to the New Orleans Saints.
“Such a joke,” Cooks tweeted at the time, per the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Young.
If Cooks is forcing the Texans’ hand, teams like the Cowboys could benefit. However, it’s hard to see Cooks being worth any less than a third or fourth-round pick.
How Cowboys Could Afford Cooks
Of course, a major problem with bringing in stars like Cooks is that they are expensive. The former Rams receiver is set to be a $16.2 million cap hit in 2022 per Spotrac, although $7.5 million is dead cap for the Texans.
Cooks will be a free agent in 2023, so Dallas could pay around $8.7 million for one year of service from Cooks, or potentially see if he’d accept a contract that would make him be less of a cap space hit in 2022. Considering the Cowboys are currently $21.2 million over budget, each dollar helps.
There’s definitely cheaper options, but likely none that are as skilled and proven as Cooks is. Plus, the potential departure of Cooper would at least contribute $18 million to the budget, which would go a long way for making a deal like proposal happen.