Brandin Cooks may have missed the Houston Texans’ Week 9 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles for “personal” reasons, but that hasn’t shaken his teammates’ belief in his ability to serve as an effective leader for the team’s group of receivers moving forward. Though fans may have been disappointed that Cooks took the Texans’ inability to honor his (reported) wishes of a trade at the deadline to heart, wideout Chris Moore seems confident as ever in the star receiver’s ability to remain a rock for Houston’s offense, both on and off the field.
Moore spoke to reporters on Tuesday after practice, and made it clear that he and the rest of the Texans’ pass catchers still look to Cooks as an inspiring leader, despite the drama that has played out in the last week. Cooks has been back with the team since missing the game against Philadelphia, and to hear Moore tell it, is still in good standing with the offensive crew.
“He’s our leader in our receiver room,” He explained. “It’s very important. We love him. He’s a great player, he’s a great leader, he’s a great man. When all that stuff happened, we all know or at least most of us because we’ve all been here (in the NFL) a while, that’s just part of the business. You never know really what’s going to happen and either way we’re happy to have him back and see him in the building.”
The circumstances surrounding the comments may be less than ideal, but at least it doesn’t seem that Cooks’ situation has in any way tainted the cohesion of the offense at large. In fact, his response to the (perceived) adversity of being denied a trade may prove to have sparked a call to action for Lovie Smith and his coaching staff as they seek to use Cooks’ talent to the greatest possible extent while he remains on the roster.