Packers connected to Brandin Cooks in proposed trades

Brandin Cooks is no stranger to trades. Unfortunately, the Green Bay Packers are.

The two have been connected in recent days. Not via actual trade rumors, but via two different websites proposing the Packers strike a deal with the Houston Texans to acquire the receiver. With the NFL’s trade deadline looming–November 1st at 3 pm CT–there is pressure for the Packers to strike a deal.

The Athletic proposed Green Bay send a fifth-round pick to Houston in exchange for Cooks’ services. The Texans originally sent the Los Angeles Rams a second-round pick when they acquired him in April of 2020 and received a fourth-rounder back as well.

NFL.com is the other website that proposes a deal, but doesn’t say what the Packers would have to give up to get Cooks, but it’s assumed it wouldn’t be less than a fifth-rounder.

Two major NFL websites have proposed the Green Bay Packers trade for Houston Texans wide receiver Brandin Cooks.

Cooks has already been traded three times in his career so this isn’t foreign territory for him (unfortunately). He continues to produce wherever he’s at. Through eight NFL seasons and four times, he’s posted six 1,000-yard seasons including six of the last seven. He’s off to a bit of a slower start this year and only has 28 receptions for 281 yards and one touchdown through six games.

The Packers have been connected to some other younger receivers such as Chase Claypool and Jerry Jeudy, but Cooks is a win-now type move. He’s ready to produce the day he steps onto the practice field and would give Green Bay another deep threat. He also has experience picking up a new playbook in the middle of the season.

Would this help Aaron Rodgers and the offense? Rodgers hasn’t been good this year due partly to his lack of trust in his existing receiving group. Adding a new guy in the middle of the season wouldn’t help with that.

Cooks’ salary would also be nearly impossible for the Packers to absorb. He’s due for $18 million guaranteed in 2023–a number that would give Green Bay fits. They are already having trouble paying the guys on their roster. It would be extremely difficult to make that money work without cutting additional players.

It’s unclear if the Packers consider themselves buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. They are probably more than one player away from being legitimate Super Bowl contenders so is it worth mortgaging their future even more? That’s a decision they’ll have to make quickly.