TEXANS "CULTURE" TAKES ANOTHER HIT

Texans' Brandin Cooks has been traded so many times, and maybe we're starting to understand why

Texans' Brandin Cooks has been traded so many times, and maybe we're starting to understand why
Extending Brandin Cooks clearly looks like a huge mistake. Composite image by Brandon Strange.
Making sense of the extreme Vegas projections for Houston Texans

According to multiple reports, Texans WR Brandin Cooks will not be playing Thursday night against the undefeated Eagles because of, get this, "personal reasons."

 

Yeah, you read that correctly. Cooks is upset he didn't get traded and went on social media this week to express his frustration over his situation.

 

The guy that was brought in as a great culture fit, is seemingly refusing to play in the Texans' only prime time game of the season because the team couldn't trade him and his massive contract before the deadline. And to go a step further, the Texans' only other legit WR, Nico Collins, is out with an injury. Yeah, great culture guy. The Texans had to get rid of DeAndre Hopkins who was rumored not to be a culture fit and bring in this dude? Plus, all this comes after Cooks defended Jack Easterby in his media session shortly after Easerby was fired. It's pretty easy to read between the lines here.

For years many have wondered, why has Brandin Cooks been traded so many times? I think we're getting our answer. The Saints traded him, so did the Patriots, the Rams too, and he's not even thirty years old. And I firmly believe the Texans would have traded him if it wasn't for his massive salary and cap hit.

It will be interesting to see if the Texans go after his money if he continues to refuse to play. One thing is for sure, GM Nick Caserio's decision to not trade him at the deadline last year, and give him an untradeable contract extension in the offseason looks like a huge mistake. Cooks knew he was signing up for a rebuilding team when he took the money this offseason. Deal with it! Now, things could change in the coming weeks and maybe the Texans get Cooks back in the fold, but it looks bad right now.

Here's to Nick Caserio not handing out any more contracts that make trades nearly impossible once the player decides he doesn't want to be in Houston anymore. Because, unfortunately, players want out of Houston way too often to not expect it to happen again.

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The Astros beat the Rangers, 5-4. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

Zack Short hit a walk-off RBI single in the 11th inning after Christian Walker tied it with a sacrifice fly and the Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers 5-4 on Saturday night.

Short hit a 1-1 pitch to right field off Hoby Milner after Robert Garcia (1-5) walked two to load the bases.

Texas took a 4-3 lead when Adolis García hit the first pitch from Bennett Sousa (3-0) for a single — scoring automatic runner Marcus Semien.

Kyle Higashioka hit a solo home run off Josh Hader with two outs in the ninth to tie it 3-3. It was the first blown save for Hader after 25 straight to begin the season.

Jose Altuve hit his 17th homer — a two-out solo shot in the first off Jacob deGrom to tie it 1-1 after the Rangers scored an unearned run on Framber Valdez’s wild pitch.

Yainer Diaz homered for the 14th time for a 2-1 lead in the fourth. Mauricio Dubón hit his sixth homer off Jacob Webb for a 3-1 lead in the seventh.

Semien hit his 11th homer to cut it to 3-2 in the eighth.

Valdez allowed an unearned run on four hits with 10 strikeouts and no walks in six innings. The Astros have won his last 12 starts with him getting the win in nine of them.

DeGrom allowed two runs on four hits and a walk in six innings with eight strikeouts.

The Rangers struck out 19 times — two short of the club record for an extra-inning game.

Key moment

Short entered as a pinch runner in the ninth and was just 4 for 17 before his game winner.

Key stat

Houston hasn’t lost a season series with division rival Texas since 2016.

Up next

Rangers RHP Nathan Eovaldi (6-3, 1.62 ERA) starts Sunday’s rubber game opposite Astros RHP Hunter Brown (9-3, 2.21).

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