Brandin Cooks, Texans Reportedly Agree to 2-Year Contract Extension amid Trade Rumors

The Houston Texans agreed to a two-year contract extension with wide receiver Brandin Cooks, according to a report.

Ian Rapoport reported the deal is expected to average less than $20 million annually.

Cooks had a productive season. He caught 90 passes for 1,037 yards and six touchdown over 16 games.

"Houston still gave the speedy receiver plenty of downfield routes, but Cooks didn’t see as many catchable deep passes. Instead, he was presented with more shallow targets. Despite the offense being unable to fully tap into his deep speed, Cooks still managed a 77.3 receiving grade for the season, as he saw a career-high 24.6% target rate."

The signs indicated that the 28-year-old would join another team by the start of the 2022 season. Mary Kay Cabot reported that the Cleveland Browns were interested in getting Cooks and Deshaun together.

The Texans are in the middle of a rebuild, a phase that was confirmed with the trade. They are expected to be one of the worst teams in the league for one more year.

The final two years of Cooks' contract were due to void, so he was due to be a free agent in 2023.

The financial details of the extension have not been reported, but new deals for Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill helped Cooks demand a little more than he would have.

The front office could point to the fact that Houston is keeping Cooks around.

Rivers McCown @riversmccown

Welcome to the 2023 Texans, who are an utter blank slate. -They will likely have more than $100 million in cap space. -Laremy Tunsil's $35 million cap hit can be extended off of or moved.

-Brandin Cooks' void year carries one of the highest cap figures on the team. pic.twitter.com/iXHpr3qpCN

The Miami Dolphins spent more than $239 million on free-agent signings during the 2020 season. In the NFL, teams don't have to make long-term journeys back to relevancy.

As bad as the Texans are, their outlook could change a lot this time next year, and having Cooks will certainly help.

The first-round pick hasn't experienced the kind of breakthrough that put him in the elite tier at his position. He hasn't been to the Pro Bowl through eight seasons.

The floor for Cooks has always been high. Twice he failed to crack 1,000 yards. He had to compete for targets with Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods on the Los Angeles Rams when he was limited to 10 games as a rookies.

He has a 65.8 percent catch rate for his career, and he has averaged 4.8 catches and 66.5 yards per game.