FRISCO, Texas — In a bid to add speed and a complement to Pro Bowler CeeDee Lamb, the Dallas Cowboys are acquiring Houston Texans wide receiver Brandin Cooks for a fifth-round pick in 2023 and a sixth-round pick in Year 2024, sources shared ESPN’s Jeremy with Fowler and Adam Schefter.
The Cowboys and Texans had talks about a deal before last year’s trading deadline but couldn’t come to an agreement.
Cooks’ salary of $18 million in 2023 is guaranteed. Cooks restructured his contract Saturday so Houston will pay $6 million of his salary this season and Dallas will pay the remaining $12 million, sources told ESPN. He is under contract until 2024.
“More than blessed and can’t wait to be something special to the star! Very grateful to the Jones family for this opportunity for my family and I,” Cooks said in a text message to ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime.
player
1,000-yard seasons
Mike Evans
8th
Travis Kelce
7
Brandin Cooks
6
Amari Cooper
6
— ESPN stats and information
Last year, the Cowboys traded Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns for a fifth-round pick, but only added veteran James Washington in free agency and third-round Jalen Tolbert as backups. Washington suffered a broken foot in training camp and went just two games without a catch before being released. Tolbert only caught two passes as a rookie.
After Michael Gallup returned from a cruciate ligament tear in his left knee, executive vice president Stephen Jones said it was “probably fair” to criticize the Cowboys for not doing enough to replace Cooper.
In Cooks, the Cowboys get a speed threat to pair them with Lamb and Gallup, who the organization believes will be much better in his sophomore year without major surgery.
Cooks, 29, has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with Houston, saying he doesn’t want to be part of a rebuild. He caught 57 passes for 699 yards and scored three goals in 13 games for the Texans last season.
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In his career with the Texans, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints, he has 630 receptions for 8,616 yards and 49 touchdowns.
This is the fourth time he has been traded in his career.
The Cooks deal is the second big deal the Cowboys have made in the past week. Dallas also acquired cornerback Stephon Gilmore from the Indianapolis Colts for a fifth-round pick (No. 176 overall).
The Cowboys built their roster through the draft and avoided big free-agent signings. You now have a choice each turn. They had three fifth-round picks after equalizer picks were announced, but have since dealt two of them.
Source : www.espn.com