Getty Image / Steve Marcus
The Houston Texans will be taking on the Philadelphia Eagles tonight on Thursday Night Football, but when they head out on to the field, they’ll be doing it without one of their best players.
It’s not really much of a surprise. There weren’t many people who entered this week expecting Brandin Cooks to be wearing a Texans jersey today. They were just expecting the Texans to have some nice new draft picks to keep them company in Cooks’ absence.
That didn’t end up happening, due in part to the guaranteed money in Cooks’ contract for next season. Now it looks like that guaranteed money could disappear.
Cooks hasn’t shown up to practice this week and isn’t going to play tonight and according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, that could allow the Texans to void his guarantee for next season.
Brandin Cooks could have his guarantee voided by the Houston Texans
An $18M fully-guaranteed salary in 2023 kept Texans WR Brandin Cooks from being traded. That guarantee could now be in jeopardy, if the team didn't give advance written permission for his current absences from work. https://t.co/hnq4b7UKDI
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) November 3, 2022
Under his contract, a copy of which PFT has obtained, the guaranteed salary for 2023 becomes “NULL AND VOID” if Cooks commits a “default” user the specific terms of the contract.
A default occurs if (among other things) the player, without “prior written consent” of coach Lovie Smith or G.M. Nick Caserio, “fails to practice with or play for Club” for reasons other than a football-related injury or illness.
If, as it appears, Cooks has checked out this week due to the fact that he wasn’t traded, the Texans could wipe his 2023 guarantee off the books — and then cut him.
That 18 million would be a tough loss, but this would potentially get Brandin Cooks what he wanted all along. With that guarantee gone, the Texans could cut him, allowing him to find a contender to play for.
It’s not the way he had planned on it happening, but there is still a chance Cooks won’t have to play for the Texans anymore.