What It Means:

Cooks didn't participate, which has been normal on Wednesdays for most of the season, but his presence is encouraging after he didn't play last week due to a "coach's decision," per Texans head coach Lovie Smith. The veteran wideout is expected to practice on Thursday and play in Week 10 against the New York Giants on Sunday. Phillip Dorsett will likely start opposite Nico Collins (groin) if Cooks winds up not playing again. Collins was a limited participant at Wednesday's practice after missing the past two games.

Cooks is leading the Texans with a 22.7% target share this season (7.6 per game) and he's playing the most offensive snaps among the team's pass-catchers (85.3%). The Giants are allowing the fourth-fewest FanDuel points per game to wide receivers this season, but their pass defense is only 21st in numberFire's adjusted team metrics.