Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, citing a source with knowledge of the situation, reports that the Eagles offered the Saints veteran S Malcolm Jenkins, a third- and fourth-round pick for WR Brandin Cooks.
However, New Orleans was reportedly looking for a second-round pick and Jenkins back for Cooks.
Ultimately, the Saints agreed to trade Cooks and a 2017 fourth-round pick to the Patriots in return for 2017 first- and third-round picks.
The Saints made it clear that they wanted to get either a starting caliber defensive player and picks for Cooks or they wanted a package of draft picks. New Orleans is, obviously, familiar with Jenkins, given that they drafted him year ago, but it appears as though they preferred the Patriots deal that included better draft picks to the Saints offer.
The Titans were also in the mix for Cooks, but there’s no word on what their offer to the Saints was.
Jenkins, 29, is a former first-round pick of the Saints back in 2009. He spent five years in New Orleans before signing on with the Eagles in 2014.
Jenkins is currently in the second year of his five-year, $40.5 million contract that included $21 million guaranteed and stands to make base salaries of $6 million (2017), $8.5 million (2018), $8.25 million (2019), and $7.75 million (2020) over the remainder of the agreement.
According to OverTheCap.com, trading Jenkins would have freed up just $1.5 million of available cap space while creating $6 million in dead money.
In 2016, Jenkins appeared in all 16 games for the Eagles and recorded 72 tackles, a sack, three interceptions with two being returned for touchdowns, a fumble recovery and nine pass defenses.
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