Seriously. I’m asking what’s in the headline above.
It’s pretty wild to think about the fact that one player — and a pretty talented one at that — in Brandin Cooks has been traded three times already before turning 27 years old, with the latest deal coming on Thursday as the Houston Texans acquired him.
That might not be so weird if Cooks was an NBA player, or maybe even an NFL running back. But we’re talking about three significant trades in a short span that brought back serious return for the teams that dealt him. And Cooks, in turn, went to two straight Super Bowls and was a huge contributor to those teams in the process.
It’s not like Cooks is a malcontent:
I wouldn’t be worried about the idea that Brandin Cooks is a bad teammate because he’s been traded three times. I've been told he has been respected in NFL locker rooms throughout his career.
— Sarah Barshop (@sarahbarshop) April 10, 2020
It just might be circumstance. Let’s break down the deals:
1. The Saints dealt him with a 2017 fourth-round pick to the Patriots for a 2017 first-round pick and a 3rd-round pick
New Orleans had Michael Thomas and Ted Ginn, so maybe they thought they were fine at receiver? Alvin Kamara was their second-leading receiver that year (826 yards). So maybe Cooks was represented a surplus for the franchise at that time? And the allure of getting a big return was too much to turn down?
2. The Patriots traded him with a fourth-round pick to the Rams for a 2018 first-round pick and a sixth-rounder
Again, Cooks got back a first-rounder (Isaiah Wynn, for the record). This was a case of getting back a huge return before Cooks was getting a massive raise in free agency.
3. The Rams traded him with a fourth-round pick to the Texans for a 2020 second-round pick
This seems like a case of the market for wide receiver being rich in the draft and the Rams getting out from under his contract — with so many talents, they can replace Cooks for cheap (and they also have Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp and Josh Reynolds, along with two solid tight ends in Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett). Cooks is also coming off an injury-filled down year for the first time
So maybe it’s not Cooks himself, but the circumstances around him? It’s just plain weird.
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