Ex-Cowboys WR signs $13,000,000 deal with Saints in free agency

Brandin Cooks is returning to New Orleans. The Saints made the reunion official on social media on Thursday, posting a GIF of Cooks doing his signature "archer" touchdown celebration while wearing a Saints jersey.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the 31-year-old wideout signed a two-year, $13 million contract.

The Saints took Cooks in the first round (20th overall) of the 2014 NFL draft out of Oregon State. He spent his first three seasons in the NFL with the Saints before being traded to the New England Patriots in 2017.

Cooks did not take well after Michael Thomas entered through the 2016 draft for his role in the offense, late in his Saints career:

"Closed mouths don't get fed," Cooks stated then.

Despite those tensions, he ended that last season with 78 receptions for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns.

The veteran receiver is coming off a difficult 2024 season with the Dallas Cowboys. He sat out seven games after suffering a knee infection that necessitated cleanup surgery and caught only 26 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns.

Cooks played only four games with quarterback Dak Prescott before the signal-caller suffered an avulsion of his right hamstring.

This is the sixth squad of Brandin Cooks' 11-year NFL playing career. He's compiled 710 receptions for 9,532 yards and 60 scores along the way. He's only 468 yards away from crossing the hallowed 10,000-yard career threshold.

Brandin Cooks reunites with familiar faces

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Brandin Cooks is the first player in history to achieve 1,000+ receiving yards for three straight seasons on three different clubs. He's also just the second player in NFL history to achieve four 1,000-yard seasons on four different teams, following in the footsteps of Brandon Marshall.

His Saints legacy is having the franchise record for longest touchdown reception (98 yards). In his first three-year stay in New Orleans (2014-2016), Cooks accumulated 215 receptions for 2,861 yards and 20 touchdowns with two 1,000-yard seasons.

The veteran replaces a Saints receiver corps with Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. All three possess comparable physical profiles, 6-foot-0 or under and under 190 pounds. But with Olave and Shaheed recovering from serious injuries, Brandin Cooks brings much-needed depth and experience to the team.

Cooks will reunite with offensive coordinator Kellen Moore in New Orleans. While they narrowly avoided working together in Dallas (Moore departed for the Los Angeles Chargers the same offseason Cooks arrived in the Cowboys) they can work together now for the Saints.