Texans’ Brandin Cooks is ‘frustrated’ being part of ‘rebuild’

Wide receiver Brandin Cooks has addressed his situation with the Houston Texans. 

“Man, I’m human. I’m frustrated, absolutely,” Cooks admitted while speaking with reporters on Thursday, as shared by Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. “I want to win. That’s not the case. That’s what’s going on. That’s the way I express my emotion. I think we all want to win. We’re all frustrated in some sense. That’s where I stand with that.”

Cooks remained attached to the Texans beyond the trade deadline and then seemed to voice his displeasure about the matter via social media. The 29-year-old did not play in what became last Thursday’s 29-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and reportedly could’ve been in danger of losing his fully-guaranteed 2023 base salary of $18 million had he gone “absent without official leave.” 

Per DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN, Cooks is expected to play when the 1-6-1 Texans face the 6-2 New York Giants in New Jersey this Sunday. 

“I mean, at this point in my career, I’m not sure if you’re calling this a rebuild, but I think anyone later on in their career wouldn’t necessarily want to be part of a ‘rebuild,'” Cooks added during his comments. “You work too hard. You want to win [with] all the work that you put in. Obviously, you understand organizations throughout the league go through that. At the end of the day, I want to win and compete now. That’s always been my thought process.” 

Cooks signed a two-year extension with the Texans this past April, but Bien-Aime noted the club “will have to revisit” the player’s future this offseason. According to ESPN stats, Cooks leads Houston with 32 catches, 53 targets, and 354 receiving yards on the campaign. He has one touchdown catch in seven games.