Through the past two seasons, while the Houston Texans have spiraled out of control, receiver Brandin Cooks has been the model of consistency.
The 28-year-old notched his second straight season of 1,000 yards receiving with the Texans, and had three different quarterbacks throwing him passes in that span in Deshaun Watson, Tyrod Taylor, and Davis Mills.
“Just getting back to the basics,” Cooks said. “Getting my mind right and going back to my fundamentals. Not the first time on a back-to-back.”
In Cooks’ eight seasons, there were only two that the former New Orleans Saints 2014 first-round pick failed to reach 1,000 yards: his rookie year and also 2019, his last year of a two-season stint with the Los Angeles Rams.
The Texans finished 4-13 in 2021, but Cooks hauled in 90 passes for 1,037 yards and six touchdowns through 16 games, 13 of which he started.
“No matter the circumstances, whatever is going on, you can depend on me and I will ball regardless of what is going on around me,” said Cooks. “I also think from a leadership standpoint, the way I had to lead, I learned a lot about myself especially this year everything that’s been going on. I just have to continue to take that and build on that and lead guys around me.”
Cooks reworked his contract in March 2021 to give the Texans more flexibility when it came to talent acquisition. In doing so, Cooks risked his long-term status with the team.
Whether Cooks wants to rework his contract and sign an extension with Houston is a matter he is leaving up to his agent, Ryan Tollner of Rep 1 Sports.
Said Cooks: “I’ll leave that to my agent, and I’ll leave that to my representation and [general manager] Nick (Caserio) and whoever else is involved in that decision making. I’m fine with whatever and we will just see what happens. I haven’t really thought about that to be honest with you.”
What is on Cooks’ mind is kicking off the offseason with his family and shifting towards family time with his wife and son.
“The amount of time I spend at the facility throughout the year when it is in season is a lot, so I miss a lot of that time,” said Cooks. “He is still young, so for me that shift is going to be going into dad mode especially this first month and then I’ll get back to the swing of things.”