Brandin Cooks is being traded once again. The Houston Texans are reportedly sending the wide receiver to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for two draft picks: a 2023 fifth-round pick and a 2024 sixth-round pick.
Last season, Cooks caught 57 passes for 699 yards and three touchdowns. He's a speedy runner, and will pair will with his future teammate WR CeeDee Lamb — especially with WR Michael Gallup currently recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his ankle.
Cooks, a nine-year NFL veteran, had wanted to get out of Houston for awhile, requesting a trade in October before the 2022 deadline. After seeing three head coaches in three seasons and the trade of Deshaun Watson, he didn't want to be part of the rebuild. He didn't get his wish then, likely because his contract (he's owed $18 million in 2023) was a little too hefty, and the Texans' asking price perhaps a little too steep. But now he's headed to a different Texas team that's definitely not in rebuild mode.
In fact, when this trade is officially announced, Cooks will have tied the record for most-traded player in NFL history. Before Sunday, he's been traded three times: from the New Orleans Saints (the team that drafted him in 2014 with the 20th overall pick) to the New England Patriots in 2017, from the Patriots to the Los Angeles Rams in 2018, and from the Rams to the Texans in 2020.
Now, with the fourth trade of his career, Cooks has tied retired running back Eric Dickerson for the all-time NFL trade record.