Saints sign WR Brandin Cooks on 2-year, $13M deal, source says

The New Orleans Saints are reuniting with wide receiver Brandin Cooks eight years after they traded him to the New England Patriots.

The team hinted at the move on social media by posting a GIF of Cooks in a Saints uniform performing his signature “archer” touchdown celebration, before announcing the two-year deal a short time later.

A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter the deal is worth $13 million.

Cooks, the Saints first-round pick in 2014, spent the first three seasons of his career in New Orleans. Cooks expressed frustration about his role in the offense toward the end of his final season there following the selection of Michael Thomas in the 2016 draft.

Editor’s Picks

2 Related

“Closed mouths don’t get fed,” Cooks said at the time.

He finished that season with 78 catches for 1,173 yards and 8 receiving touchdowns. Cooks had 20 receiving touchdowns in his three seasons in New Orleans.

Cooks was traded to the Patriots in 2017 in exchange for a 2017 first-round pick, which was used to select All-Pro right tackle Ryan Ramczyk. The Patriots also sent the Saints a third-round pick and received a fourth-round pick in return.

Cooks was most recently with the Dallas Cowboys, where he spent the past two seasons. His 2024 season was interrupted by an infection in his knee that required a cleanup, forcing him to miss seven games.

He caught 26 passes for 259 yards and three scores, but he played only four games with Dak Prescott before the quarterback’s season ended with an avulsion of his right hamstring.

Cooks came to the Cowboys in 2023 following a trade from the Houston Texans. He caught 54 passes for 657 yards and eight touchdown catches, one off his career-high.

For his career with five teams, he has 710 catches for 9,532 yards and 60 touchdowns. He is only the second player in NFL history to record four 1,000-yard seasons with four teams, joining Brandon Marshall.

Cooks, 31, has appeared in Super Bowls with the Patriots and Los Angeles Rams. His experience and success made him one of the veteran leaders on the Cowboys, with receivers like CeeDee Lamb and Jalen Tolbert leaning on him for parts of their success.

ESPN’s Todd Archer contributed to this report.