Why didn’t Brandin Cooks get traded? It’s all the Texans fault

Houston Texans wide receiver Brandin Cooks was an obvious threat to get traded at the deadline. Yet, 4 p.m. ET Wednesday went by without a deal. So, what happened?

Brandin Cooks was one of the top wide receivers available at the trade deadline this season. There were also a number of wide receiver-needy teams who could use a talent like Cooks. Surely, there was a match, right?

Not so fast.

The Texans failed to trade Cooks by the 4 p.m. ET trade deadline, in part thanks to the value they expected in return for him. Houston general manager Nick Caserio reportedly wanted multiple draft picks in return for Cooks, and for any interested party to assume all of Cooks’ remaining contract. Basically, here’s what any deal for Cooks would have looked like, per Adam Schefter:

Texans Get

Second-round pick

Fourth-round pick

$18 million

Packers Get

WR, Brandin Cooks

In this case we used the Packers, since they failed to acquire a weapon at the trade deadline.

Why didn’t the Texans trade Brandin Cooks?

Houston didn’t trade Cooks because they didn’t receive the massive haul they’d expect in any offers. That’s likely because they overvalued Cooks and the wide receiver market in the first place.

With the number of wide receivers available at the trade deadline, no teams would overpay for a 29-year-old weapon with $18 million of baggage like Cooks, as talented as he may be at his best.

Cooks has six 1,000-yard seasons to his name, but he has just 354 yards and one score this year. Has he taken a step back, or does this say more about Houston’s quarterback situation? Nonetheless, there are enough questions about Cooks as a player to warrant pushback on that trade return. Add in the contract consideration, and it’s easy to see why most teams would look elsewhere.