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As the Los Angeles Rams look for ways to turn their season around, one familiar name could be on their radar before Tuesday’s trade deadline.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported Saturday there is “talk in some league circles” the Rams are pursuing a trade for Houston Texans wide receiver Brandin Cooks.
Cooks has seemingly been on the trade market since the end of last season. There were rumblings he might be moved during the offseason until he agreed to a two-year contract extension with Houston in April.
The extension could be a problem if the Texans try to move Cooks. He is only making $1.2 million in base salary this season, but his cap hit spikes to $26.6 million with a $34.2 million dead cap figure in 2023.
As the Texans endure another year of rebuilding, keeping a 29-year-old wide receiver who probably won’t be on the roster by the time they are good again makes little sense.
Jordan Schultz of The Score reported this week that Houston is willing to trade Cooks with several teams showing “real interest.” According to Schultz, the Texans would prefer to receive draft capital in return if they deal the nine-year veteran.
Per NFL reporter Dov Kleiman, the Rams, Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers are among the teams with interest in Cooks. The Chiefs added Kadarius Toney in a deal with the New York Giants on Friday, so they may be out of the receiver market.
The Packers might be more desperate for another receiver than Los Angeles. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers publicly called for players who make too many mistakes to get benched on The Pat McAfee Show (h/t Pro Football Talk‘s Michael David Smith). Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb are the only wideouts on the roster with at least 15 catches who are averaging more than 10 yards per reception.
Los Angeles tried to address its No. 2 receiver position during the offseason by signing Allen Robinson to a three-year contract. He’s been a bust with 170 yards on 17 receptions in six games, however.
The entire Rams offense has struggled due to a combination of injuries on the offensive line and poor performances. They have scored the fourth-fewest points in the league (17.3 points per game), and Matthew Stafford has more interceptions (eight) than touchdowns (six).
Cooks is familiar with Sean McVay’s system, having played with the Rams for two seasons from 2018 to 2019. He had a career-high 1,204 receiving yards in 2018 to help Los Angeles reach the Super Bowl, where he caught eight passes for 120 yards in a 13-3 loss to the New England Patriots.
