Brandin Cooks has listed his home for $5.8 million. Does it mean anything?
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Brandin Cooks is listing his recently purchased Hidden Hills house on the market, according to an article from the Los Angeles Times.
Cooks’ 2.3-acre estate rests at the top of a cul-de-sac. He bought the modern style home a few months after being traded from the Patriots to the Rams, but the official listing on RedFin shows he is selling the home for $5.8 million.
But as the sixth-year wideout begins listening to offers for his house, it isn’t far-fetched to assume that the Rams are preparing to listen to offers for Brandin Cooks himself.
According to Spotrac, the Rams will enter the 2020 season with 41 players under contract and roughly $26 million in cap space. Cooks’ salary alone amounts to 8.1 percent of the team’s salary cap, with $21.8 million in dead cap.
Looking ahead to next season, Cooks could be a cap casualty for a team that is in win-now mode with very little draft capital and is heavily-invested in franchise quarterback Jared Goff, who has struggled behind a porous offensive line decimated by injuries.
Les Snead has become increasingly aggressive during his tenure as general manager of the Rams since the team moved to Los Angeles. With Cooks, the Rams have a dependable deep threat who has finished above 1,000 yards receiving with 16 starts in four of his six seasons in the league, with the only other two seasons being this year and a rookie season cut short by a fractured thumb.
But an unfortunate slew of recent head injuries has kept Cooks from maximizing his full potential and could also diminish his trade value. The former Oregon State All-American suffered his fourth concussion in less than two years in the Rams’ 24-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in London and is officially listed as out for the team’s Sunday night tilt against the Bears.
And as Cooks’ contract stipulates, he has $50 million guaranteed for injury. It also wouldn’t be far-fetched to think that he could walk away from the game with well-deserved wealth for the sake of his own health.
This is not to speculate that Cooks has considered retirement, but there’s a growing trend across the NFL where star players retire during the prime of their careers. Andrew Luck is the most recent example, following the footsteps of perennial All-Pro players like Patrick Willis, Calvin Johnson, and Rob Gronkowski.
But the trade deadline has since passed, and Cooks is seeking to get back on the field as soon as possible. Rams head coach Sean McVay is optimistic that his deep threat wideout will return for the team’s Monday night date with Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in Week 12.
“He’s out there. He’s got great energy like he always does. He’s moving around,” McVay said. “I think it’s one of those things sitting down with Brandin, really getting a chance to talk to our doctors and then making that decision that we feel like is right. I think he’s feeling good and I think he’s excited about the opportunity to come back and play.”
Cooks’ decision to sell his Los Angeles home doesn’t necessarily mean his days as a Ram are numbered. One only needs to look at NBA superstar Kawhi Leonard, who in June reportedly bought property in Toronto ahead of his decision to spurn the Toronto Raptors for the Los Angeles Clippers in early July.
But all things considered, Cooks’ status with the team is certainly something worth monitoring as the Rams continue to play the game of salary cap gymnastics that they started, which won’t end anytime soon.
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