Through the first two weeks of the 2024 season, the New Orleans Saints looked like the best team in the league. They scored over 40 points in both games, notching a 62-point differential. Then, everything suddenly fell apart. New Orleans lost seven straight games and won just three times through the remainder of the season. Any hope of playing in Super Bowl LIX in their home stadium quickly dissipated.
The campaign served as a reminder that the days of Sean Payton and Drew Brees are long gone. Instead, the Saints have fallen back into irrelevancy. There is cautious hope that new head coach Kellen Moore, formerly the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator, will change the team’s trajectory.
Despite the coaching overhaul, the Saints don’t have much to work with. Along with their annual salary cap deficits, New Orleans has an aging roster with too many weaknesses and not enough depth. After their 5-12 record last season, it was expected that the team would enter a rebuilding period. Instead, the Saints appear to be loading up.
The Saints are reuniting with Brandin Cooks — but is it worth it?
The Saints signed wide receiver Brandin Cooks to a two-year, $13 million contract, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Cooks has played for five different teams over the course of his 11-year career. Despite producing at least one 1,000-yard season for four of those teams, he never lasted longer than three years in one city. Now, for the first time in his career, he’s returning to a familiar place.
The Saints selected Cooks in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, and they both enjoyed three productive seasons together. Cooks recorded over 1,100 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in his second and third seasons, but the Saints traded him to the New England Patriots for a first-round pick in 2017.
While the reunion may bring back memories of more pleasant days, a lot has changed since they were last together. Cooks is no longer the player he once was, and the Saints are no longer the powerhouse they were when they traded him. The Saints are unlikely to compete for a title within the next two years, and the 31-year-old wide receiver hasn’t topped 700 receiving yards in the past three years.
The signing follows a surprising string of moves that would typically be expected from a postseason contender rather than a team in the rebuilding phase. New Orleans re-signed defensive end Chase Young and tight end Juwaun Johnson, traded for defensive tackle Davon Godchaux and signed safety Justin Reid in free agency. With uncertainty at the quarterback position and plenty of holes across the roster, it’s fair to wonder how many of those players will be around to make an impact whenever the Saints finally march back into the playoffs.
Cooks will join a wide receiver room that is currently led by Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed and Cedrick Wilson Jr. While the veteran can certainly provide leadership, he doesn't bring much that the team doesn't already have.
Brandin Cooks contract grade: C+