The Los Angeles Rams are trying to sort out their finances after 2019 exposed the various weaknesses they have on their roster. Their latest move is offloading Brandin Cooks for the outrageous contract that the team had to pay in comparison to his level of production last season.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported that Cooks was traded to the Houston Texans for a 2020 second-round pick. The move frees them up from paying the rest of the five-year, $81-million contract that he's supposedly owed.
It's hard to blame the Rams for giving Cooks as much as he wanted. His stats pointed to him being an elite player, and the Rams were desperate to keep him with the team after an incredible 2018. In his first season with the Rams, he finished with 1204 receiving yards and five touchdowns. He was a great target for Jared Goff during the year they made a run for the Super Bowl.
However, the subsequent season exposed many of Cooks' weaknesses that eventually made the team trade him away. In his 14 starts, he only completed 583 receiving yards and two touchdowns. His ineffectiveness was a factor in the Rams' failure to make the playoffs last season.
Trading him away is a sign to the rest of the league that they will be looking at young talent who can contribute right away. CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, Justin Jefferson, and Laviska Shenault all put in solid performances last year and can immediately impact the Rams' receiving corps.
Only time can tell if the trade was worth it, but the Rams are hoping that the freed cap space will help them acquire players that will help them compete better moving forward.
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