The NFL trade deadline is less than 24 hours away and it appears that one plater is keen on joining the Minnesota Vikings.
A report from Jordan Schultz of The Score suggested that the Vikings were in contact with the Houston Texans to discuss a deal that would send wide receiver Brandin Cooks to Minnesota. While there hasn’t been a report towards progress on a trade, Cooks liked a tweet from a fan urging the Vikings to trade for him.
https://twitter.com/taanishkaaa/status/1587151930970742795
Then on Tuesday morning, Cooks liked another tweet that effectively says he’ll be traded to the Vikings before the deadline. If that happens, whoever “@VikesFanKev” is will be due some Schefter-like respect.
Cooks is an interesting target for the Vikings ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. He has accumulated six 1,000-yard seasons in his nine-year career but has also spent it with four different teams.
Cooks has caught 32 passes for 354 yards and one touchdown as the top target for the Houston Texans this season but at 1-5-1, it seems like he would prefer to join a contender.
At 6-1, the Vikings would fit that bill and it will be interesting to see if they make Cook’s desires come true before Tuesday’s 3 p.m. Central Time NFL trade deadline.
Minnesota is dead last in cap space, with OverTheCap reporting they’re working with just over $850,000. And trading for Cooks doesn’t require just paying the remaining balance of his $9.7 million cap number, it also requires taking on the $26.6 and $24.4 million cap hits he carries in 2023 and 2024.
The Vikings would either need the Texans to eat some of his remaining salary this season or find a way to restructure his deal, or another player’s current contract to afford him now.
Putting more pressure on the Vikings to add another weapon for Kirk Cousins is tight end Irv Smith Jr. going down with a high-ankle sprain in Sunday’s game against the Cardinals. Head coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday that Smith is still being evaluated, but it could be a “week-to-week” scenario for him.
Related: Reports: Irv Smith Jr. suffered high-ankle sprain against Cardinals
Related: Why the refs flagged Bradbury for unsportsmanlike conduct
