NFL rumors: 3 contenders a Brandin Cooks trade immediately elevates

NFL Rumors: Who cares about Rodgers’ opinion? Bring Brandin Cooks to the Green Bay Packers

One hard-boiled fact came out of the Green Bay Packers’ 2022 season: the team dearly misses Davante Adams. Aaron Rodgers didn’t need to go on a darkness retreat to figure that one out.

The Packers tried their hardest to fill the gaping hole Adams left behind with 2022 rookies Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs, two youngsters who had their moments last season. The rest of the wideout group, vets Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, is just okay, and neither Lazard nor Cobb has quite the same decorated resume as Cooks.

A potential Brandin Cooks trade to the Packers should come with a neon, radioactive warning: Aaron Rodgers may not approve. Rodgers struggled to play with the fresh meat last year, and he may need someone who just gets him, you know? Like a bargain-bin Davante Adams.

Assuming the chemistry is there, and assuming Rodgers stays with the franchise, Brandin Cooks has the potential to thrive in Green Bay and turn the Packers into legitimate playoff contenders. It helps that Cooks played under Sean McVay during his time with the Los Angeles Rams in 2018 and 2019, as McVay has a longstanding friendship with Packers coach Matt LaFleur and both descended from the same coaching tree.

With Watson and Doubs still not worthy of Rodgers’ trust (from Rodgers’ perspective, at least), an established veteran like Cooks could do wonders for the Packers’ offensive quandary.

Cooks could be that missing puzzle piece, that budget-friendly Adams to the Packers’ passing game, but it would entirely hinge on his chemistry with someone who has shunned vaccines, attacked the general NFL media, and prefers figuring out his issues in complete solitude.

Joining the Packers is one of the riskiest gambles Cooks could take in his career — with high risk comes high reward, and it could also be his best shot at finally winning some brass.