LA Rams weigh 5 trading partners for WR Brandin Cooks

The LA Rams need more picks in the 2020 NFL Draft. Landing more picks may cost the Rams trading away WR Brandin Cooks

The LA Rams 2020 NFL Draft situation may be at critical mass.  The team must restock the roster, adjust to two new coordinators, solve the perennial mystery of the NFL salary cap, and determine who of the roster the team should keep close, and with whom the team should part ways.  Some of this situation is of the team’s own making. In the face of locking in breakout stars, the Rams negotiated premium priced contracts loaded with guaranteed money, in a belief that the market value would rapidly outdistance the team’s price paid.

And in some cases, that is not the case.  The Rams pushed a lot of cash in front of a few key players. Some have earned it. Some still have the jury out. Some are outright overpaid. One NFL trade stands out as contributing to this dilemma.

The Rams agreed to pay wide receiver Brandin Cooks at the high end of contract spectrum for the foreseeable future.  The same Rams traded a 2018 first round pick and sixth round pick to the New England Patriots and obtained WR Brandion Cooks and a fourth round pick in return.  The NFL Draft trade chart value for the exchange equated to a value of 734, or a value of a 1st round pick between 24 and 25.

Since that trade, the Rams opened their purse strings and pushed nearly $90 million toward Cooks. In his two seasons with the LA Rams, Cooks has hauled in 122 catches from 189 targets in 30 regular season games for 1,787 yards, and seven TDs.  He averaged 14.64 yards per catch for the Rams over the past two seasons.  That translates into an average of $16,687 per yard for the past two years.  While Cooks certainly played a huge role in the Super Bowl run from 2018, his 2019 drop off was a huge reason why the team failed to return to post season.

Those horrendous Rams guaranteed contracts

The Rams are struggling under the NFL Salary cap ceiling in 2020 because they loved to hand out lots of guaranteed dollars to players and do so over long term deals.  The Rams are now struggling under the aggregate weight of too much money in the hands of too few players.  What makes matters worse, those high dollar district players are not all performing at the level of their compensation.

More from Rams Free Agency

• What if…? This LA Rams IOL shockingly opts for free agency?
• LA Rams should add ‘pass-rush specialist’ in free agency
• Should the LA Rams revisit bringing Odell Beckham Jr. back?
• Why the Los Angeles Rams should extend Baker Mayfield
• Baker Mayfield faces stiff QB competition in NFL Free Agency market

Mike Tanier from Bleacher Report wrote a fairly damning article about the Rams front office spending habits, suggesting that the Rams have spent all their draft and salary cap currency. In the Big-Spending Rams Have Trapped Themselves in a No-Win Situation piece, he projects the Rams to a 7-9 NFL limbo for years to come.

Of course, we are much more optimistic than that, believing the Rams can turn it around this off-season, restructure some contracts, and convert some overvalued assets into 2020 NFL Draft currency.

The 2020 salary cap analysis for the LA Rams is not rosy at the moment.  At OverTheCap.com, the latest estimate for the available salary for the Rams as of 24 January 2020 is $21,092,123. In that same analysis, the OTC folks do a very admirable job of estimating what the salary cap his in 2020 will be for each player under contract.

Cooks Cap Casualty

Right now, Cooks will hit the Rams 2020 salary cap for $16,800,000.  Based on his 2019 production, the Rams truly cannot afford to keep him on the roster.  That means outright cutting him (and suffer the cap hit of doing so), trading him, or restructuring him.  In some cases, the team may simply test the trade market and get what they can in return.

One of the players we believe has value is WR Brandin Cooks. And we believe that there is a true market for him today in the NFL.  One such team we suggested trading with is that of the Philadelphia Eagles.  In that scenario, the Rams would get WR Alson Jeffery and the Philadelphia Eagles fifth round pick, while the Eagles would walk away with WR Brandin Cooks and the Rams seventh round pick.  In this exchange, the Rams would upgrade a draft pick, shed about $1.4 million in cap space, and land a veteran receiver who competes hard for catches.

But there are other teams in the market for a veteran wide receiver. Let’s examine five teams who could likely be in the market for Cooks in 2020. The criteria is simple – the team must have a documented need at wide receiver, the team must be able to trade a maximum value second round draft pick, and the team must be able to absorb Cooks contract within their current available salary cap.

Salary cap and trade value

But that salary cap hit does NOT transfer in its entirety to the new team.  So before the comments section fills up with “Nobody will give up THAT much for an overpaid receiver”, let me explain a bit further. The team accepting the player is on the hook for the player salary. But the team which paid out any bonuses is still on the hook for those bonuses.

More from Ramblin' Fan

• NFL Trade Rumors: Would Rams trade for Jonathon Taylor?
• Look for 49ers players to follow DeMeco Ryans to Texans
• Ryans to the Texans, will Rams Raheem Morris be next?
• Broncos mimic LA Rams, go All-In pairing Payton with Russell
• Need a new Los Angeles Rams hat for less than $10?

In the scenario of WR Brandin Cooks, his 2020 salary cap hit of $16,800,000 will be made up of prorated signing , option and roster bonuses plus a base salary of $8,000,000.  If the team trades Cooks on the current contract conditions, the team sheds the $8,000,000 base salary.  But all paid out bonuses come due now.  That means the Rams are STILL on the hook for $17,800,000, a net hit of $1 Million.

Of course, the team getting Cooks will only be on the hook for his $8 million in 2020, $12 million in 2021 and 2022, and $12.5 million in 2023.   In terms of NFL Trade value, Cooks is still a high end receiver at a modest price.

Yes, Cooks has a history of violent concussions, and some teams will certainly take that into consideration. But if the team fears that history, they likely will not hold the discussion on the possibility of trading for him.  We believe some teams will weigh the matter in the favor of reward. A potential 1,000 yard receiver who immediately stretches the field, helps the running game, and helps lead a team young receivers until they grow into their NFL roles.

So what’s in it for the LA Rams?  They shed a bad contract, eat just $1 million more in 2020 salary cap, and should pick up a day two pick in the process.  Of course, the team can restructure the contract, pushing down the current cap hit, and pushing much more into future months.  That will most certainly lower any return on his trade we estimate here.

Las Vegas Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders are heading to a new stadium and a new NFL city.  Big events mandate a team make a “big splash”.  The Raiders attempted to create that fever by signing former NFL.com analyst Mike Mayock as the teams general manager.  The team then executed a shocking trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers for wide receiver Antonio Brown.

That trade failed miserably.

The Raiders are no doubt back in the hunt for a veteran wide receiver who can put up 1,000 yards. He need not be a long-term contract, as the Raiders have plenty of draft picks for the 2020 NFL Draft, and this draft is particularly full of NFL caliber talent.

In an interview with Review Journal, Mayock admitted to needing a playmaker WR out of free agency, and that the Raiders are very open-minded to trading to find one. I truly admire Mike Mayock’s approach and perspective.

The Raiders need to make a PR splash, and WR Brandin Cooks will certain energize the fan base.  He immediately becomes a deep ball threat, which helps the team’s running game and tight end focused passing game. But even more important than the value of exchanged picks and player in a trade, the Raiders will spark talk of post season with enough of the right off-season moves.

Mayock is no fan of prestidigitation. But he will recognize Cooks’ upside and negotiate a solid deal. for the value of a late 2nd round pick, the Raiders land an economical WR in Brandin Cooks.

In the end, the LA Rams swallow a wee bit extra salary cap hit in 2020 for a clearer cap path in the future, plus two added picks in round 3 of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills made significant progress in 2019.  They were an NFL wildcard playoff team, and with the New England Patriots scrambling to re-sign veteran free agent quarterback Tom Brady, me be just one or two key moves away from getting over the hump. For the Buffalo Bills, it’s now or never to make a bold move.

That will certainly be on the mind of the team’s front office this off-season.

Originally, I hadn’t considered the Bills as a potential trading partner for WR Brandin Cooks, until I noticed this article over at BuffaLowDown.com.   If the Bills are thinking in terms of Cooks as a potential trade target, the Rams will be happy to field their call. While the article cites a mid to late round draft pick, there is no consideration of what the financial aspects of this trade does to the Ramas.  If the entire cap hit transferred, that proposal makes sense.  But in light of the Bills getting a deeply discounted Cooks for the next three seasons, the trade value inflates.

The LA Rams send WR Brandin Cooks and a fifth round pick to the Bills in exchange for the Bills second round pick. The pick value for the Rams is a late second round pick.

New York Jets

The New York Jets are sinking further and further into the “all in” status on their young quarterback Sam Darnold. Where other pundits see franchise quarterback, I see an undisciplined passer who will struggle with interception his entire career. But the Jets intend to prove to the NFL that Darnold is “the guy”, and that means giving him new weapons on offense.

Much like the Buffalo Bills, the Jets have witnessed the impact WR Brandin Cooks can make in a game from his playing days with the New England Patriots.

Cooks stretches the field, pushing defenses to only set seven player in the box. That allows the offense to out-man defenses in the running game.  The Jets receivers are 6-foot-3 Robby Anderson, 6-foot-3 Demaryius Thomas, and 5-foot-8 Jamison Crowder.  The Jets recently added Crowder, who delivered a team leading 833 receiving yards in 2019.  The upside of adding Crowder could persuade the team to go back to the veteran WR well and bargain for the better upside for Cooks.

Why would the Jets want Cooks AND Crowder? They would have more wider receiver sets, a formation the gun-slinging Darnold is more familiar with from his USC days.  Plus it allows the team to platoon Crowder and Cooks, giving each a lighter workload while maintaining deep route pressure on defenses.

In the end, the LA Rams pick up a third and a fourth round picks, and in return the NY Jets receive WR Brandin Cooks and a sixth round pick

New York Giants

The other New York team, the New York Giants, are in the wide receiver market for a different reason. In their case, the team has a new head coach, the potential franchise quarterback in Daniel Jones, a bell cow running back in Saquon Barkley, and now are in need of a 1000 yard receiver.

And the Giants have a connection to the New England Patriots as well, as they hired former Patriots coach Joe Judge as the teams new head coach.  The team also added former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett to take over as the new offensive coordinator. Garrett loves a fast receiver, having made ample use of wide receiver Cole Beasley during their time together in Dallas.

The Giants will no doubt be shopping for a fast receiver to replicate the Patriots and Cowboys offense, and LA Rams receiver Brandin Cooks is a perfect fit to both coaches as they implement their new offensive scheme for 2020.

Cooks is a perfect fit for the Giants.  Once they have him signed, the team can draft his eventual offensive successor. Meanwhile the Giants can use remaining picks to add depth throughout the roster.

To get the right value, the team need to exchange second round picks, with the LA Rams getting both the Giants round four and five picks as well.

Washington Redskins

So far, reports have linked potential Washington Redskin free agents to the Los Angeles Rams. But the road runs two ways. Wouldn’t the Rams tap new offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell to see if the Redskins have interest in a veteran wide receiver?  Unless my sources are wrong, the Redskins would jump at the chance to get an inside scoop on a potential free agent target.

The Redskins, for better or worse, are now obligated to surround second year quarterback Dwayne Haskins with better weapons. While the team will leave the door open for veteran quarterback Alex Smith, the team drafted Haskins to take over the team.

As one of the worst teams in the 2019 season, the Redskins are now blessed with one of the highest value set of picks from the 2020 NFL Draft. The Redskins too have a new head coach in Ron Rivera, and new offensive coordinator in Scott Turner. Turner has a knack of getting the most out of offensive players.  In that vein, a reclamation project at the wide receiver position would make great sense, particularly for a veteran who has just come off one down year.,

The Redskins desperately need help at receivers. They landed an excellent rookie wide receiver in 6-foot-0 Terry McLaurin. But he accounted for more yards receiving than the next three receivers for the team in 2019.

The Redskins have the second pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, and can land a star prospect, or trade pack for multiple picks.  Giving up a 3rd and 5th for a potential 1,000 yard receiver for the new coaching staff , if it pans out, will be looked back as a steal.

In the end, some LA Rams fans may wish to keep Brandin Cooks on the roster in 2020. To be honest, the LA Rams may very well do just that.  But the Rams need picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, and they truly need to shed the bad contracts executed during their post Super Bowl jubilation.

No trade happens without two teams willing to risk walking away with less value by believing that they are getting more value in any deal.  Teams trading for Cooks must believe that he can put up better numbers in 2020, while avoiding any further injury or concussions.  The LA Rams must believe that Cooks’ contract places them at a non-competitive disadvantage going forward, and the likelihood of his return this season as a thousand yard receiver are significantly less going forward.

There are teams who do believe that in the NFL today. The Rams simply need to reach an understanding with them.