HOUSTON — The Houston Texans and wide receiver Brandin Cooks have agreed to a two-year contract extension, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Thursday.
Prior to agreeing to the extension, Cooks was owed a $12.5 million base salary in 2022 as part of a deal that was signed with the Los Angeles Rams in 2018 and restructured by Houston last year. Cooks was in the final season of the contract.
Cooks, who has played in at least 14 games in all but his rookie season (2014), has hit 1,000 yards receiving in six of his eight NFL campaigns.
Earlier this week, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that Houston had received interest from multiple teams in the wide receiver. A source told ESPN that if Houston were to trade Cooks, it would take a second-round draft pick in return.
“It seems like whenever you talk about Brandin, anyone, they talk about leadership,” Texans coach Lovie Smith said at the NFL owners meetings last month. “You don’t say that about everybody. You have to do something really well in order for people to describe you that way.
“And for me, being in a different role last year and just seeing him from afar. … I knew about him before I got there. Just saw how he handled his business each day. The professionalism that he had. The routine. All the things I know the good football players I’ve been around do on a daily basis is what I saw from Brandin.”
In 119 games over eight seasons, Cooks has 573 catches for 7,917 yards and 46 touchdowns.