How many times has Brandin Cooks been traded? Tracing Cowboys WR's NFL career

The Dallas Cowboys have their newest receiver in former Houston Texan Brandin Cooks. The receiver was traded to Dallas in exchange for a fifth-round pick (2023) and a sixth-round pick (2024).

The search for Dallas' star receiver had Odell Beckham Jr. in their sights along with DeAndre Hopkins, but it was Brandin Cooks who the Cowboys went with.

In an interesting bit of information, with the trade of Cooks to the Cowboys, the receiver made a piece of history. He became just the third player in NFL history to be traded four times.

The other two are former running back Eric Dickerson and linebacker Kiko Alonso.

It is certainly unusual for a receiver, especially one as talented as Cooks, to be traded that many times during a career that has only spanned nine years. He has never spent more than three seasons with a franchise.

The trade was a bargain for Dallas as they got the star receiver they were after, and it essentially didn't cost them anything. This is a superb piece of business and Jerry Jones is to be thanked.

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Brandin Cooks' trade history in the NFL

As mentioned above, Cooks has now been traded four times during his NFL career, which ties the NFL record, but what are those trades?

Drafted in 2014, Cooks was a member of the New Orleans Saints for three seasons before he was moved on to the New England Patriots. Cooks moved teams and the Saints got a 2017 1st and 3rd-round pick in return.

Then came the Patriots trade. Cooks spent just one season in New England and was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 2018.

The next trade saw Cooks be moved on to the Houston Texans. The Patriots moved on from the receiver and got a 2022 4th-round pick to the Texans for a 2020 2nd-round pick.

And lastly, the trade that saw him become a Dallas Cowboy. Dallas gave up a fifth-round pick (2023) and a sixth-round pick (2024) to secure his services.

That is quite a lot of movement and we hope that Brandin Cooks stays in Arlington for a while.