Reactions To Brandin Cooks Trade
The Texans trade for Brandin Cooks is a “flailing response to failure,” Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com writes. In his view, Texans head coach Bill O’Brien has a poor assessment of draft pick value – instead of taking on Cooks’ contract and injury woes, the Texans could have simply drafted a wide receiver with the second round pick they forfeited.
On the flipside, Barnwell has heard some theorize that the 2020 season will be especially challenging for rookies, who won’t have the benefit of a typical OTA schedule. Veterans like Cooks are already accustomed to the pace of the game and often pick and choose when it comes to OTA participation anyway. Barnwell doesn’t buy it, because he doesn’t believe the Texans are built to win this year. In 2019, they placed 19th in DVOA, and their divisional round loss to the Chiefs remains fresh in his mind.
Ultimately, if the Texans wanted to win in 2020, their best bet would have been to hold on to DeAndre Hopkins, Barnwell argues. Instead, they’ve effectively swapped Hopkins for Cooks and running back David Johnson.
More on the blockbuster:
- Barnwell feels that the trade made more sense from the Rams perspective, but he’s not letting L.A. off of the hook either. Cooks’ extension, he writes, was a massive mistake by GM Les Snead. And, even though they were able to bail out, they were still stuck paying him a $4MM roster bonus since the deal happened after 3/15. This year, they’ll wear a $21.8MM dead money hit for Cooks; between that and the Gurley deal, they’re stuck with $33MM in dead money this year.
- Cooks’ history with the Patriots undoubtedly played a role in the deal. In addition to O’Brien, he also has a strong relationship with Texans exec Jack Easterby, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter) notes. “Jack Easterby, you think about him and smile because he brings so much positivity within our locker room and our building,” Cooks said earlier this year. “All you can do is respect that and want to follow that lead.”
- A fun fact from Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link): Since August 31, the Texans have traded away 12 players/picks and acquired 15 players/picks. He compiled the full list, which includes Hopkins, edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks in the exit column. Meanwhile, they’ve added Cooks, Johnson, tackle Laremy Tunsil, wide receiver Kenny Stills, and eleven more assets that may or may not justify the cost.
Rams Trade Brandin Cooks To Texans
The Texans have agreed to send a second-round pick to the Rams in exchange for wide receiver Brandin Cooks and a future fourth-round choice, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. With that, the Texans have found their replacement for DeAndre Hopkins while holding on to the second-round pick they acquired from the Cardinals. 
Cooks, interestingly enough, was shipped from the Patriots to the Rams roughly two years ago today. The well-traveled 26-year-old still has tons of potential, especially now that he’s in Deshaun Watson‘s offense. The biggest question mark, perhaps, is Cooks’ health. He has a history of concussions and one more bad blow could put his career in jeopardy.
Cooks, a 2014 first-round pick, emerged as a top-end wide receiver in 2015 when he racked up 84 catches, 1,138 yards, and nine scores. In 2017, the Saints shipped Cooks and a fourth-rounder to the Patriots for first- and third-round choices. After one year, the thrifty Pats sent him to the Rams, allowing L.A. to give him his payday. Now, he’ll continue on his five-year, $80MM deal with the Texans.
Even with Hopkins out of the picture, the Texans’ offense still projects to be a potent one. With Watson under center, their starting lineup will feature Cooks, Will Fuller, Randall Cobb, and Kenny Stills as their top receivers. Meanwhile, David Johnson and Duke Johnson will be in the backfield, with blocking specialist Darren Fells up front.
In exchange for Cooks, the Rams will receive the No. 57 overall pick in this month’s draft. Given the depth of this year’s crop, it might not be hard for them to fill the void at wide receiver. They’ll also gain some extra breathing room by unloading Cooks’ contract.
The Texans will take on the rest of his multi-year pact, which calls for an $8MM base salary in 2020. After that, he’s set to earn escalating salaries of $12MM, $13MM, and $14MM until 2023.
Cardinals Have “No Concern” Over DeAndre Hopkins Trade
Three weeks ago, the Cardinals swung a blockbuster deal with the Texans to acquire DeAndre Hopkins. Three weeks later, the deal has yet to be finalized due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Still, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury is confident that the trade will be finalized before the “fully virtual” NFL Draft begins on April 23. 
[RELATED: Cardinals Eyeing Tight Ends In Draft]
“There’s no concern,” Kingsbury told reporters this week (via Mason Kern of Sports Illustrated). “Those (physicals) aren’t official as far as I know at this point, but we’ll get it done. There’s obviously — the medical field and personnel have much bigger fish to fry at this point. It’s been slower than it (normally) would be, but I have no doubts it’ll be done before the draft.”
The delay has some Cardinals fans nervous and, perhaps, has some Texans fans hopeful that, somehow, the deal will be nixed and Hopkins will return to Houston. That doesn’t seem like it’ll be the case. Barring any snags involving the physicals, Hopkins is going to Arizona and running back David Johnson is going to Houston.
Despite his injury history, Johnson was reportedly healthy by the end of the 2019 season. In theory, the Texans could use a spotty medical check to renegotiate the deal, but there shouldn’t be any real surprises once the running back is finally looked over. Besides, the Cardinals have already started discussing a new deal with Hopkins and the Texans weren’t willing to give into his contract demands in the first place.
For now, D-Hop is set to count for just $12.5MM against the Cardinals’ cap in 2020. His cap charges for the rest of his contract – which runs through 2022 – do not exceed $14MM in any given season.
Texans LB Dylan Cole Signs RFA Tender
Dylan Cole has signed his restricted free agent tender. The linebacker announced on Twitter that he’s inked his new deal with the Texans.
“Done deal,” Cole said. “Absolutely blessed to be in Houston another year! Time to earn it. Let’s make it out of 2020 healthy! That’s to all of us.”
Cole was tendered at an original-round level back in March. He’s set to earn $2.144MM next season.
The former undrafted free agent out of Missouri State has spend his entire career with the Texans organization. He actually put up his best numbers during his rookie year, compiling 32 tackles, three passes defended, and two interceptions in 12 games (one start).
This past year, Cole appeared in 11 games for the Texans, compiling 16 tackles and one pass defended. The 25-year-old landed on the injured reserve in late November after suffering a torn ACL. That injury will likely knock him out of part of the 2020 campaign.
O'Brien: Texans Wanted To Keep Reader
The Texans lost D.J. Reader to an unlikely team, with the Bengals deviating from a long-conservative free agency philosophy to sign the breakout defensive lineman to a four-year, $53MM deal. Bill O’Brien confirmed (via the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson, on Twitter) the Texans wanted to keep Reader. The seventh-year Texans HC/first-year Texans GM said team brass had “good conversations” with the interior defender’s camp about a new deal but acknowledged the team “couldn’t get that one done.” The Bills, Broncos and Titans were among the known Reader suitors before the Bengals swooped in. The Texans initially came in with a $6MM-per-year offer before the 2019 season, but Reader’s bet on himself translated into $13MM-plus-AAV deal. Houston has not made a move to replace Reader up front. The Texans have $35MM in cap space but are working on a Laremy Tunsil extension and obviously have a Deshaun Watson deal to consider.
- Justin Reid made a pitch to O’Brien to consider his brother as an addition at safety, Wilson notes. The Panthers recently released Eric Reid. In addition to the younger Reid brother, Houston employs Tashaun Gipson at safety and just signed Eric Murray to a deal that surprised many. The Texans are not likely to make another major addition at this position this offseason.
Latest On DeAndre Hopkins Trade
One of the most heavily-scrutinized trades in recent memory — the deal that will presumably send star wideout DeAndre Hopkins and a 2020 fourth-round pick to the Cardinals in exchange for David Johnson, a 2020 second-round pick, and a 2021 fourth-rounder — has not yet been processed because the players involved have been unable to take physicals, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com observes (via Twitter). Of course, the same holds true for a number of free agent pacts around the league, but given the magnitude of, and fallout from, the Hopkins-Johnson swap, the fact that it’s not yet set in stone is significant.
In order to avoid having their free agent signees in a holding pattern, some teams have taken the route that the Bengals recently took with one of their big offseason acquisitions, D.J. Reader. Readers’s deal is now “official,” but he agreed to additional language in his contract which states that he still must pass a physical in order for the deal to take effect. If he doesn’t pass, the Bengals will have the option of cutting him immediately or keeping the contract as-is.
Similarly, if Hopkins and/or Johnson should fail a physical, it would give Houston and Arizona the ability to back out of the trade altogether. As it presently stands, the Cardinals — who are already said to be talking contract with Hopkins — would be hurt the most by such a development, and it stands to reason that they would then push for a modified deal that still brings the three-time First Team All-Pro to the desert.
On the other hand, a failed physical would allow the Texans and head coach/de facto GM Bill O’Brien to back out of a trade that has been universally panned, and while the underlying reasons for the trade would still exist — Hopkins’ contract demands and reported friction between Hopkins and O’Brien — O’Brien would surely welcome a chance to negotiate a more favorable accord with Cardinals GM Steve Keim.
The odds are slim that either Hopkins or Johnson will fail a physical. Hopkins has been the picture of health in his seven-year career, and while the same cannot be said for Johnson, he at least appeared to be 100% at the end of the 2019 season (even if his playing time was slashed). More likely than not, the trade will go through and Texans fans will remain bitter about it, but until it becomes official, it’s a situation worth monitoring.
Extra Points: Brees, Kuechly, O’Brien
Saints coach Sean Payton might’ve accidentally let some big news slip this week. Appearing on ESPN’s ‘Get Up,’ Payton said “the unique situation with our team and quarterback Drew Brees, he’s announced he’s coming back for his final season,” via Katherine Terrell of The Athletic. When Brees elected not to retire this offseason, he said he’d be taking things year by year and didn’t make any official proclamations about this being his last campaign.
Either Payton misspoke, or he let the cat out of the bag. We’ve heard for a while now that the Saints eventually want Taysom Hill to take over as the starting quarterback, and that they plan on utilizing Hill even more this coming season. All the moves they’ve made so far point to one last run with Brees, so it would make sense if he has in fact told them this is his final ride. They’ve signed a 32-year-old Malcolm Jenkins and a 33-year-old Emmanuel Sanders, so they’re clearly all-in on 2020.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Speaking of NFC South retirements, Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly surprisingly decided to hang up his cleats this offseason. Interestingly, Carolina still hasn’t officially placed him on the reserve/retired list, according to Joseph Person of The Athletic. Before fans get excited, that’s likely because the Panthers can add $6MM in cap space by waiting until after June 1st to make the move, Person notes. Additionally, a source close to the former Defensive Player of the Year told Person that he has had “no second thoughts” about his decision to retire. We’ve heard the former All-Pro could be eyeing a coaching/consulting gig, and Person writes he has also explored broadcasting opportunities. Kuechly is still only 28, so there’s plenty of time for him to change his mind about his playing career.
- Texans coach Bill O’Brien caught a lot of flak for his trade of Deandre Hopkins and what he was able to get back in return, and he sought to explain himself a bit Friday. “It was in the best interest of our team. DeAndre Hopkins was a great football player. We loved DeAndre Hopkins He had three years left on his deal and he wanted a raise. David Johnson is going to be a great addition to our football team,” O’Brien said, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). O’Brien seemed to confirm that Hopkins’ desire to sweeten his deal was a driving force behind the shocking trade. It’ll be very interesting to see how O’Brien handles the locker room and growing backlash from the fanbase.
Latest On Laremy Tunsil
Appearing on NFL Live earlier today, Texans offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil unsurprisingly confirmed that’s aiming to become the NFL’s top-paid offensive lineman if and when he reaches a long-term deal with Houston.
“I’m not going to talk numbers, as I’m going to keep that between me and the club,” Tunsil said, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. “I am looking to be the highest-paid lineman, of course. I worked my butt off to be in that position and hopefully we can make that happen.”
Tunsil didn’t want to talk specific figures, but numbers have been reported. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle recently indicated the Texans are willing to make Tunsil the league’s highest-paid lineman and have offered an annual salary of $18.5MM, $500K more per year than the Eagles’ Lane Johnson collects.
Tunsil is reportedly looking to top $18.5MM annually, but it’s unclear just how much more he’s searching for. A $20MM/year pact would represent a significant increase in the offensive tackle market, but given that Houston sacrificed two first-round picks and a second-rounder to land Tunsil from the Dolphins last offseason, the 25-year-old holds all the leverage in talks.
The 13th overall selection in the 2016 draft, Tunsil will earn $10.35MM in 2019, the final year of his rookie pact. The Texans could conceivably retain him through 2021 by deploying consecutive franchise tags, but an extension seems far more likely.
Texans, DT Timmy Jernigan Agree To Deal
After three years in Philadelphia, Timmy Jernigan will head back to the AFC. The veteran defensive tackle agreed to terms with the Texans on Wednesday, Marc Berman of Fox 26 tweets.
Jernigan can earn up to $3.75MM on this one-year contract, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, and will receive $1.25MM guaranteed. He will join a Texans team that saw longtime starter D.J. Reader defect in free agency.
This marks another low-level pact for Jernigan, who went from signing a four-year, $48MM Eagles extension to agreeing to back-to-back one-year deals. Last year, the Eagles released him only to re-sign him for one year and $1.25MM. The former Ravens starter will become the second-biggest name on the Texans’ defensive line, which J.J. Watt is in line to lead for a 10th season.
Jernigan, 27, played just 27% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps last season. He missed most of the 2018 campaign due to injury but impressed enough during Philly’s Super Bowl season to sign that lucrative extension. A former second-round Ravens pick, Jernigan totaled 13 sacks and 35 quarterback hits in three Baltimore seasons. With Philly, he posted 5.5 sacks and 12 QB knockdowns. Last season, Jernigan missed extensive time due to a broken foot.
A change of scenery figures to result in increased playing time for the six-year veteran, and this will likely double as a chance for Jernigan to re-establish his value in hopes of landing another big contract.
Laremy Tunsil, Texans Exchange Offers
The Texans and Laremy Tunsil may be progressing on a deal. The sides had preliminary talks last month, and Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets they have exchanged contract proposals.
This does not appear to be a sign the sides are especially close on a new contract, though. No agreement is imminent, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle adds (via Twitter). But this pact will make Tunsil the NFL’s highest-paid tackle, per Wilson. The only question will be by how much does the former first-round pick separate himself from the field.
Houston has come in with an $18.5MM-per-year offer, Wilson tweets. Tunsil’s counteroffer is “significantly” higher, per Wilson. With Lane Johnson‘s $18MM-per-year pact leading all offensive linemen, the Texans’ first proposal is notable. With $18.5MM AAV being the team’s starting point, this could be a monster deal Tunsil.
Tunsil has been extension-eligible since January 2019, but his outlook changed once the Texans gave up two-first-round picks and change for him last summer. The Texans trading away DeAndre Hopkins also cleared a high-salary slot on Houston’s payroll.
The former Dolphins draft pick is expected to push for a $20MM-per-year accord. Tunsil going for a deal north of $20MM annually makes sense given where the cap could go in the near future under the new CBA. Anthony Castonzo‘s new Colts deal averages $16.5MM annually, but with Tunsil only going into his age-26 season and having seen the Texans give up major assets for him, his deal will almost certainly come in much higher.
Tunsil made his first Pro Bowl last season. While his resume does not profile as a player who would warrant a contract well north of the tackle market, the Ole Miss product was once in contention to become 2016’s No. 1 overall pick. And the Texans’ 2019 trade package sent to the Dolphins for him increased his leverage in extension talks, just as the Rams’ haul sent to the Jaguars will when Jalen Ramsey negotiations begin.