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If the New England Patriots hope to make the postseason and to be a force for the rest of the regular season, they need to shore up two areas of their roster.
The team needs to find some depth in the secondary. They were exposed last week by an explosive Dallas Cowboys offense as Dak Prescott lit them aflame to the tune of 445 yards and 3 TDs. The team may need to address that need via a midseason signing, trade or perhaps a permanent elevation from the practice squad of a guy like Myles Bryant might do the trick. The second area is at wide receiver.
The Patriots spent a ton of money on free-agent wide receivers this past season, but Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor still haven’t provided the team with a legit outside threat. That’s where the following trade proposal could help New England.
Patriots-Texans Trade Proposal
- Patriots Get: Brandin Cooks
- Texans Get: Fourth-Round Pick
The Patriots should seek a reunion with Brandin Cooks. The last bit of Cooks’ prime is rotting away on a dysfunctional, talent-starved Texans roster. Cooks isn’t one of the greatest wide receivers in the NFL over the past 10 years, but he’s just outside that group and he’d instantly be the best wideout on the Patriots roster.
He played one season in New England back in 2017. Cooks had 65 receptions for 1,082 yards and 7 TDs. He got hurt in the final regular season game of the season that year and was unavailable for the postseason.
The Patriots were eventually upset in the Super Bowl by the Philadelphia Eagles and some wonder if New England might have won if Cooks had been available.
Owen Crisafulli of Chowder and Champions talked a bit about Cooks potentially landing back with the Patriots:
A former Saints (and Patriots) wide receiver could be a bit more attainable though; that would be Brandin Cooks, currently on the Houston Texans. Cooks was highlighted earlier on as a wide receiver the Patriots should keep an eye on throughout the season, and he has had a blistering start to the season. Through three games so far (the Texans played their Week 3 game on Thursday Night Football last night) Cooks has 23 receptions for 322 yards and a touchdown. He’s been the Texans most consistent source of offense so far, and has looked like one of the top wideouts in the league through three games. In case you forgot, Cooks spent one season with the New England Patriots in 2017, which ended up being one of the better seasons of his career. He finished the season with 65 catches for 1082 yards and seven touchdowns. If he didn’t end up getting forced out of the Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles that season, the Patriots might have seven Super Bowl rings rather than six.
You could say he has some unfinished business with the team.
What’s In it For the Texans?
Quite simply, the Texans aren’t even close to being a contending team. Their quarterback situations is still unsettled with Deshaun Watson seemingly set to be traded any day, and with rookie Davis Mills still in the process of proving he’s worthy of taking the keys to the offense.
The Texans’ roster on both sides of the ball lacks playmakers. The best way for the team to move in the right direction is to clear salaries and stack draft assets.
Cooks is scheduled to earn $12 million in 2022, but it’s only partially guaranteed. Dumping his salary would be still be helpful for a Texans team that needs to clear unnecessary cap hits, but the partial guarantee should make Cooks affordable and perhaps attractive to the Patriots.
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