The Eagles still need to improve their wide receiver room if they want to give Jalen Hurts a real shot at proving himself in 2022 - and it's pretty clear Howie Roseman knows it.
After trying to trade for the now-suspended Calvin Ridley and reportedly being players for numerous prominent free agent wide receivers, the Eagles are now apparently calling after a less exciting but still intriguing wideout option down in Houston.
MORE: Eagles reportedly staying in contact with free agent Mathieu
Former ESPN insider Jordan Schultz reported Thursday morning that the Eagles, along with numerous other teams, have called the Texans about veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks:
Cooks, who turns 29 in September, had 90 catches for 1,037 yards and six touchdowns last year while catching passes from the likes of Tyrod Taylor and Davis Mills. He's put up six 1,000-yard seasons over eight years in the league, and has 46 career touchdowns.
(Eagles fans, of course, will best remember Cooks as the Patriots wide receiver who received an absolute walloping from Malcolm Jenkins in Super Bowl LII. But I digress.)
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Cooks is a very solid wide receiver who is payed like an elite one, which might factor into the Eagles' ultimate decision here - assuming they have a shot at acquiring the player.
Cooks is in the final year of a five-year deal he signed in 2018, and is owed a base salary of $12.5 million next year while counting for $16.2 million against the cap. Pricey!
Spotrac estimates the Eagles have roughly $11.1 million in cap space for their Top 51 players in 2022, a good chunk of which will need to go towards their top draft picks later this month. If the Eagles do indeed trade for Cooks, they'll also likely be restructuring his contract in a way that alleviates the pressure on 2022 and spreads the hit out over multiple years.
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Would I make a trade for Cooks, were I Howie Roseman? It's tough. The Eagles certainly aren't in win-now mode, or at least it doesn't feel that way. Cooks isn't getting any younger, although he hasn't hit 30 yet and is still producing. He'd take a lot of pressure off DeVonta Smith, and if you can get him for a reasonable price - the Eagles have plenty of picks! - I wouldn't mind the idea.
But the whole point of acquiring all those picks was to be ready for a quarterback move if Hurts doesn't pan out, so I'd be reticent to give up much of serious value. I'd also consider just taking a wide receiver in the first round instead of investing so much in an aging commodity.
Ultimately, Roseman is always working the phones and this could lead to something - or it could lead to nothing. We'll see.