He’s back. On Wednesday, the Texans agreed to send veteran wide receiver Randall Cobb back to Green Bay (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). The deal will see the Packers send a 2022 sixth-round pick to the Texans, who will also pick up $3M of Cobb’s salary in 2021.
The trade came at the request/demand of MVP Aaron Rodgers, who agreed to return to the Packers earlier this week. Without Rodgers’ insistence, it’s unlikely that this trade would have ever materialized. Cobb never played for Matt LaFleur and third-round wide receiver Amari Rodgers was already ticketed for much of the team’s slot work. Still, Rodgers wanted his old pal back and the Packers weren’t about to say no to him, or Cobb’s wealth of experience. Now, Cobb will join Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Allen Lazard, Devin Funchess, and the other A. Rodgers on the WR depth chart.
Cobb played eight seasons with the Packers, totaling 41 receiving touchdowns and more than 5,500 yards. He secured a $10M-per-year extension in 2015 — a decent sum at the time — but the Packers let him walk in 2019. Cobb signed with the Cowboys and performed better than anyone else left in Wisconsin.
The 5’10” receiver parlayed that success into a three-year, $27M contract with the Texans, but that deal was authorized by since-fired HC/GM Bill O’Brien. Cobb was also limited to just ten games. Now that they have slot receiver Anthony Miller, the new administration was willing to part with him.
Cobb, 31 in August, is scheduled to earn a base salary of $8.25M in 2021 — partially paid by Houston.
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