While his teammates have praised Cooks for his leadership throughout his time on the team this season, his production hasn’t come through. In 10 games, Cooks caught 19 passes for 165 yards despite playing 65 percent of the team’s offensive snaps.
Cooks was rumored to be available before the trade deadline, but no deal ever materialized. The only trade New Orleans made from its receiver depth was sending Rashid Shaheed to the Seattle Seahawks for a pair of draft picks.
“If it happens, it happens,” Cooks said after the deadline. “Obviously, that hasn’t happened. For me, personally, I just know that I can play at a high level. Obviously, it’s been frustrating with the minimal opportunities, but all I know is work, all I know is work. And I hope I get more opportunities as I continue to display that.”
The Saints originally selected Cooks in the first round of the 2014 draft, but traded him to the New England Patriots for two picks that would ultimately turn into offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk and defensive end Trey Hendrickson.
In 12 seasons with five teams, Cooks caught 729 passes for 9,697 yards.
Staff writer Matthew Paras contributed to this report.
