Brandin Cooks is no longer captain of the Houston Texans.
The veteran wide receiver started Sunday without the “C” patch on his jersey that previously denoted his captaincy. This followed a report by the NFL Network that head coach Lovie Smith resigned his captaincy because Cooks made a public complaint after not receiving treatment at the NFL’s trade deadline.
It was widely believed that as of the deadline, Cooks was a top commercial candidate for competitors seeking an upgrade at the receiver. When the November 1 deadline passed and Cooks was not acted upon, he tweeted the following:
The tweet was cryptic, but one thing seemed clear. Cooks was unhappy staying with the team, which has a win and sits bottom in the AFC South. He confirmed this when speaking to reporters last week.
“Personally, at the end of the day, all I want is to win and compete now,” Cooks said. “That was my thought process.”
Brandin Cooks, seen here on Sunday without his “C” Captain patch. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Sunday was his first game in the lineup since his tweet. He missed practice and a Week 9 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles for “personal reasons and not due to injury.” He played against the New York Giants on Sunday — without a captaincy patch — and had four catches for 37 yards. The Giants won 24-16 and the Texans fell to 1-7-1.
He didn’t discuss his captaincy but reiterated his frustration at playing for a losing team.
“It’s tough,” said cooks, according to KPRC’s Aaron Wilson. “It’s the name of the game. These games in this league are taken to the extreme. It’s definitely frustrating not being at the top consistently.”
He also said he was happy to be back on the field with his teammates.
‘It was good,” said cooks. “It felt great to be out there with my boys.”