As expected, the Dallas Cowboys have endured a number of losses in free agency.
Longtime starters Jourdan Lewis and DeMarcus Lawrence inked handsome contracts with the Jaguars and Seahawks, respectively. In addition, Chauncey Golston got a deserved pay day from the rival Giants and leading rusher Rico Dowdle joined the exodus in the form of a modest one-year deal with the Panthers.
You can now add Brandin Cooks to the mix. The veteran receiver has agreed to terms with the New Orleans Saints, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Cowboys free agent WR Brandin Cooks reportedly signs with the Saints
ESPN’s Adam Schefter has reported it’s a two-year, $13 million deal for Cooks. A really nice pay day for the journeyman receiver considering he’s coming off a down season.
Cooks’ departure felt inevitable after since his comments about how he was misused in Mike McCarthy’s offense. While Cooks said he was open to a return, he stated flatly that the team “didn’t use me to my strengths.”
Cooks is a great veteran to have around and he made some clutch catches over his two years in Dallas, but he’s been on the decline over the last four years. He has six 1,000-yard seasons in his career, but none since the 2021 campaign.
The 12th-year pass-catcher managed just 80 catches for 916 yards and 11 touchdowns in 26 games for the Cowboys. There are two sides to every story, but it was apparent Cooks was under-utilized. He could have made a bigger impact in the passing game.
At the end of the day, the Saints are a great, albeit predictable, landing spot for Cooks. He was drafted in the first round (No. 20 overall) by New Orleans in 2014 out of Oregon state and produced nearly 3,000 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns in three years in the Big Easy before he was dealt to the Patriots. He will look to rediscover that form under head coach Kellen Moore.
Moore and Cooks never overlapped in Dallas, as Moore was let go as offensive coordinator just months before the Cowboys acquired Cooks in a trade with the Texans. Cooks is a solid addition for Moore as he looks to revamp a Saints offense that was hamstrung by injuries in 2024.
As for the Cowboys, Cooks’ inevitable departure just increases the likelihood that they’ll find their next WR2 in the draft.
