Dallas Cowboys get juice for offense, acquire receiver Brandin Cooks in a trade with Texans

Less than a month ago, vice president Stephen Jones said the Dallas Cowboys needed to add juice to the passing game.

He delivered on his promise Sunday morning, acquiring speedy wide receiver Brandin Cooks in a trade with the Houston Texans for a fifth-round pick in 2023 and a sixth-round pick in 2024, per sources.

The trade for Cooks is sixth months in the making, as the Cowboys trade to acquire him before the trade deadline last October but couldn’t come to terms with the Texans, who reportedly wanted a third-round pick for him.

Now they get Cooks at an even cheaper rate, giving the Cowboys the speedy receiver they coveted to play opposite No. 1 option CeeDee Lamb.

Cooks has two years left on his contract with an $18 million guaranteed base salary in 2023 and $13 million in 2024. The Texans agreed to pay $6 million of the $18 million in 2023 to facilitate the trade.

The Cowboys can walk away before the 2024 season by declining to a pay a $3 million roster bonus.

Cooks, who turns 30 in September, caught 57 passes for 699 yards and three scores in 13 games for the Texans last season.

This is the fourth time he has been traded in his career and the Cowboys will be his fifth team, joining the New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams and Texans.

But Cooks has always been productive and always provided a deep threat with 630 receptions for 8,616 yards and 49 touchdowns in his career. Cooks has six 1,000-yard receiving seasons.

Cooks provides a complement to Lamb and Michael Gallup at receiver, while finally giving quarterback Dak Prescott an option who can take the top off the defense.

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