AP Source: LA Rams trade WR Brandin Cooks to Texans

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams are trading receiver Brandin Cooks to the Houston Texans, according to a person familiar with the deal.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because the teams hadn’t announced the deal. The NFL Network reported the Rams will get a second-round pick while sending a future fourth-rounder to Houston.

Cooks will help the Texans replace DeAndre Hopkins, who was shockingly traded to the Arizona Cardinals last month for running back David Johnson and two draft picks.

While Cooks hasn’t matched Hopkins’ superstar play during his six-year career, Cooks is a fast, steady deep threat who has five 50-reception seasons for three franchises.

Cooks, who spent his first three NFL seasons with New Orleans, played the past two seasons with the Rams after they acquired him from New England. Los Angeles gave him an $81 million contract extension through 2023 before he played a game for the team.

Cooks caught 80 passes for 1,204 yards and five touchdowns in 2018 with the Rams’ NFC championship team. He managed just 42 catches last season while overcoming the latest in a series of concussions during his six-year NFL career.

Cooks joins running back Todd Gurley in the offseason exodus of veteran talent from the Rams. Cooks and Gurley were key components of coach Sean McVay’s offense over the past two years, but that offense will have a new look in the fall.