3 Reasons Cleveland Browns need to trade for wide receiver Brandin Cooks
By John Suchan
The Cleveland Browns need to make a trade for veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks happen as they are trying to build a championship-caliber team
The Cleveland Browns continue to be active this offseason as there have been more reports of the Browns contacting the Houston Texans in regard to a trade involving veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks.
Cleveland.com sports reporter Mary Kay Cabot reported that news this past week and it has Browns fans taking note. Earlier in the week, I’d written an article about reasons to try and sign wide receiver Will Fuller, who had also recently played with the Texans.
Both players were teammates of Cleveland’s new franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson over the past several seasons. While Fuller has many tangibles that would benefit the Browns, trying to trade for Cooks now would be an even bigger signing.
If you look at Cooks’ career to this point, you’d have to say he’s an outstanding wide receiver who has been very consistent, even more so than a player like Fuller. He has had the chance to team up with Watson and made the very most of it back in 2020.
He’s also at a point in his career where he’ll likely want a bigger contract after this season because he’ll be entering free agency in 2023. If Cooks were playing for a team like the Browns, with the acquisition of Watson, he’d be a lot closer to vying for a championship before his current team, the Texans
I’d also considered a trade for Cooks back a couple of months ago when I wrote about the Browns and Texans swapping players that included Cleveland’s quarterback Baker Mayfield. The Texans are in need of a veteran quarterback and making this type of move now would give each team a player that was more valuable to them at the moment.
The Browns have recently made the move to bring back their third running back, D’Ernest Johnson and the room seems to be getting a bit more crowded. Kareem Hunt, the other main running back for the Browns could also be available in a trade. His value to another team in the league is probably at its highest in years so making a move now would make sense.
So, why would Cooks be such a value to the Browns now in a trade?