4 other trades the Vikings could have made before the 2022 deadline
By Randy Smith
Brandin Cooks – WR
Brandin Cooks was linked to the Vikings before the trade deadline, but the team went elsewhere, and Cooks wasn’t dealt at all. That said, it’s not that the wideout wanted to remain in Houston or that the team didn’t try dealing him, either.
Trade talks with the Dallas Cowboys reportedly fell through, and Cooks was left as a Texan after the 4 p.m. EST deadline. Reportedly, talks went nowhere after draft compensation and salary were questioned, and that would of most likely been the case with the Vikings had they even entertained the idea of Cooks.
The wide receiver is set to have a base salary of $18 Million next season, and with Justin Jefferson already in line for a contract extension, it would have taken too much to work, or the Vikings would have had to find a way to essentially rent Cooks, as teams have seemed to do with the veteran in the past.
Still, between Cooks and Odell Beckham Jr.’s names mentioned as an interest in wide receivers, the Vikings shouldn’t ignore that position, even if they’re able to reach a long-term deal with Jefferson.
The trade for Cooks might not have happened, but the interest in the player shows where else the Viking’s interest lay, and if they were able to move some parts around might have been able to complete the trade instead of Hockenson.