Brandin Cooks has been trying to make an impact all season long for the Patriots but had to leave Super Bowl 52 early.
When the New England Patriots traded for Brandin Cooks this offseason, it was supposed to be a missing piece coming to town. Right away it was being compared to when the Patriots acquired Randy Moss and then watched him have one of the most historic seasons a wide receiver has ever recorded.
Cooks has struggled to find his footing with the Patriots this season, even though he’s put up alright numbers throughout the year.
New England was hoping he’d have an impact in the Super Bowl, which is essentially why he was acquired. The Patriots didn’t trade a second-round pick so that Cooks could have a great regular season, they wanted him as a playmaker in the biggest game of the season.
That changed in the second quarter when Cooks was taken out of the game with a head injury after taking a brutal open-field hit. It was a legal hit because Cooks was a runner at the time of the hit rather than a defenseless receiver. There could be an argument for helmet-to-helmet, the defender didn’t lead with his head.
Losing Cooks, who has been ruled out for the remainder of the game, is a tough blow for the Patriots to absorb. Already they were having a hard time moving the ball but not because their receivers weren’t open. Brady made due without Rob Gronkowski in the AFC Championship Game and led the Patriots back from a deficit. Cooks has never been as valuable to the offense as Gronk is, but changing the dynamic of the way the offense flows is always something a team would rather not do in the Super Bowl.
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