Veteran NFL wide receiver, Brandin Cooks, is ready to return for his 12th year in the NFL after dealing with a knee injury/infection which led to him playing just 10 games in 2024. Cooks says he’s ready to go and recently re-signed with the New Orleans Saints but also had some parting shots for his former team, the Dallas Cowboys, on his way out.
“I am fully healthy and have nothing to hide,” Cooks told Josina Anderson just before signing with New Orleans. “If a quarterback wants to go throw somewhere, I could get on a plane and catch for him right now.”
Before signing with the Saints, Cooks was open to returning to the Cowboys, but was honest in his opinion on how he felt they utilized his skills while in Big D.
“I have a good relationship with Dak [Prescott], the Jones family and Cee Dee [Lamb],” Cooks explained, h/t ProFootballTalk. “It’s just one of those things where they have to focus on what they have to get done first, too. I would love to play with the Cowboys, at the same time they would have to use me right. I don’t think they fully used me to my strengths.”
Brandin Cooks says he's ready to be a leader on the Saints
The Saints must have been paying attention because it didn’t take long to rekindle that flame as Cooks will be returning to New Orleans on a two year deal. Cooks spent the first three years of his career with the Saints before being shipped to New England after disputes over his role with New Orleans.
Following that episode, Cooks bounced around playing with four different franchises including previously mentioned New England, Las Vegas, Houston and most recently Dallas, the last two seasons. Now at age 31, Cooks says he’s ready to be a leader with the Saints.
“Learning how to approach the game from my younger years to now, approaching the game is totally different,” Cooks said. “You know more, you got more knowledge, you got more wisdom, your process of taking care of your body, doing the things that keep you on the field.
“I think we’ve got a great room,” Cooks continued. “CO [Chris Olave] and Sheed [Rashid Shaheed] are blazing, CO can run any route, and Ced [Cedrick Wilson], I think we got a great room. A lot of unselfishness and I think that’s important to start off with. Guys just want to win, take care of business and let everything else handle itself.”
Cooks will have the chance to be the leader for the team that drafted him in the first round, especially as they look to contend in the NFC South.