Brandin Cooks is back with the Rams after missing the last two games due to a concussion. It was his second concussion of the season and his fourth in the last two years, raising some concern about his health.
Cooks went to see concussion specialists in Pittsburgh during the Rams’ bye week, trying to get to the root of his frequent head injuries. The Rams understandably wanted to play it safe with their wide receiver, as evidenced by Sean McVay saying Cooks has been “ready to roll for a couple weeks now,” but he’s fully healthy and will play against the Ravens on Monday night.
On Friday, Cooks spoke to the media for the first time since suffering the concussion in Week 8. During his press conference, he was asked whether he ever considered retirement or stepping away from the game. His answer was pretty definitive.
“Absolutely not. No doubt about it,” Cooks said. “When it happened that never went through my mind. Even now it’s not going through my mind. I’m just thankful for a great team around me for me to be able to comfortable coming out here to play.”
Cooks got a new helmet that he’ll wear against Baltimore, which will hopefully help prevent some of the head injuries he’s suffered throughout his career. “Other than that, everything else is the same,” he said.
Given how often he’s suffered concussions in his career, it’s easy to be concerned about the possibility of him getting another one. Cooks isn’t worried about it, though, and he doesn’t think anyone else should be, either.
“To be very honest with you, not really concerning at all. I understand that it’s one of the things that’s part of the game. At the end of the day, what’s going through my mind is like, ‘OK, let’s get some answers.’ Then figuring out what’s going on,” he said. “It’s a blessing that I don’t have ever have symptoms after. But at the end of the day, once again, I think it’s one of those things that’s a case-by-case thing. Mine was very unique and just thankful once again to be able to go and get answers and the team helping me out with that.”
Going to the specialists helped, Cooks said, gaining some information about concussions that he found “extremely helpful.” Finding answers for why he’s had four concussions in two years is difficult, but he doesn’t seem to think there’s any rhyme or reason behind it.
“You think about it from a standpoint that there’s so many systems that’s going on throughout the body,” he explained. “Some of those, the better that you can train and stay on top of. It’s just like any muscle the more that you train it the stronger that it can become. Other than that, I just think it’s an anomaly. It’s part of the game and you just never know, right?”
Cooks seems to be in a good place and ready to roll for Week 12, but there’s no doubt fans and likely the coaches will be watching closely when he takes his first big hit on the field. Just don’t be surprised when he bounces back up as he often does.
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