Brandin Cooks has left New Orleans for the second time. Where will he go next?
Those in league circles who have paid close attention to the contract machinations aimed at securing Cooks’ freedom in exchange for $2.11 million in current and future salary have speculated whether he hoped to land with the Broncos, Rams or Bills.
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Cross out the Broncos.
Chris Tomasson of Denver Gazette reports that the Broncos “are not in the mix” to sign Cooks.
Cooks was drafted by the Saints in 2014, when Sean Payton was the head coach. After three seasons, he was traded to the Patriots. Connecting him to Payton is a pretty obvious exercise, especially with the Broncos at 9-2.
But, according to Tomasson, it won’t be the Broncos.
Presumably, Cooks has a destination in mind. Why else would he give up over $2 million to leave the Saints?
Buffalo could obviously use some higher quality targets for quarterback Josh Allen. And Cooks could share (if not claim) Tutu Atwell’s role in Los Angeles’ offense. (Cooks played for Sean McVay from 2018 to 2019.)
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We’ll see where this leads. The longer Cooks is free, the more confusing his decision to opt out of current and future guarantees will be — especially given the clumsy efforts to dissuade a waiver claim.
