Texans Strip Brandin Cooks Of His Captaincy For Publicly Criticizing Team After He Was Not Traded At Deadline

Published|Updated

Brandin Cooks will return to the gridiron on Sunday after missing last weekend's game, but will be missing the 'C' near his right shoulder. He is no longer a captain for the Houston Texans.

According to Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport, the team revoked his captaincy in recent days. The decision comes after the star pass-catcher publicly and privately criticized the organization.

It started just before the trade deadline when Cooks hoped to be dealt. The team did not do so and the fully-guaranteed $18 million that he is due in 2023 likely played a big role in why not.

Brandin Cooks will no longer wear the C for the Houston Texans (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Three minutes after the deadline passed, Cooks fired off a cryptic tweet that directly corresponded to the lack of trade. He was frustrated.

"Man, I'm human," Cooks said in his first public comments about the situation on Thursday. "I'm frustrated, absolutely. I want to win. That's not the case, that's what's going on. That's the way I express my emotions. I think we all want to win. We're all frustrated in some sense. That's where I stand with that."

As a result of his open discouragement, Cooks missed the entire next week of practice for "personal reasons" and did not play in Houston's Thursday Night Football loss on November 3. The team was giving him a few days to get right and regroup during a short week.

Brandin Cooks will be on the field for the Texans on Sunday.

When the Texans returned to action after that weekend, Cooks was with them. The team was hopeful that he would come back with the same work ethic he showed before the trade deadline.

Cooks did exactly that last week, which is why he will be on the field on Sunday.

However, head coach Love Smith was reportedly frustrated with his pass-catcher. He did not like how Cooks aired his grievances in the public eye.

In turn, Smith and the team decided that Cooks will be cleared to play against the Giants, but stripped him of his leadership role. He will not be a captain during Houston's game against New York.