The Saints have agreed to a deal with WR Brandin Cooks, according to NFL Network. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that it's a two-year deal worth $13 million. That's a surprising amount for the current version of Cooks. DeAndre Hopkins and Mike Williams, for example, each signed one-year deals worth about $6 million with their new teams this offseason.
NFL Network's Mike Garafolo: "The Saints were looking for speed at the receiver position. Even at this point in his career, Brandin Cooks brings it."
I'm sure Cooks is still fast. But "brings it" is probably too strong a descriptor for him ... unless you're wondering who can make the Saints' WR room older.
Cooks will turn 32 in September. That's historically been a year of significant production decline at the position, according to our player-aging data. Cooks' numbers, however, indicate that he might have turned 32 a year early ...
The WR set career lows in 2024 with 2.6 receptions and 25.9 yards per game. Those numbers marked dips of 0.8 catches and 15.2 yards vs. the previous season, his first in Dallas.
Injuries to both Cooks (missed seven games) and QB Dak Prescott (missed nine games) obviously didn't help. But even their four shared games to open the season found Cooks topping out at 4 receptions and 40 yards in Week 1 -- followed by three straight weeks of 2 catches or fewer and less than 20 yards.
I initially wrote here that I'd expect Cooks to sit no higher than fifth among Saints in targets this season, and that he might not even be a lock to make the regular-season roster.
The contract sure signals he'll be on the team this fall. But he'll still have a tough time passing any among WR Chris Olave, WR Rashid Shaheed, RB Alvin Kamara, and TE Juwan Johnson in targets.
Don't look to Cooks as a 2025 fantasy factor. Though he'd be OK at the end of a best ball draft where you already have QB Derek Carr.
Dallas let its No. 4 in targets from last season walk and needs to add WR help. CeeDee Lamb and TE Jake Ferguson were the only Cowboys to average 3+ receptions per game last year.
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