ESPN’s Adam Schefter (per Paul Kuharsky) reports that the Titans have a “standing offer” for Saints WR Brandin Cooks.
It’s clear that the market for Cooks consists of the Titans, Patriots and Eagles with Tennessee and New England appearing to be the most likely landing spots for him.
Dianna Russini reported earlier in the day that the Patriots are considering trading CB Malcolm Butler to the New Orleans Saints for Cooks. However, Butler has yet to sign his restricted tender, so he can’t be traded until it’s signed.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media later reported that the belief right now is that the Saints will be able to trade away Cooks by this afternoon with the Patriots and Titans both in the mix for him.
According to Chris Mortensen, the Saints want a quality defensive starter and two draft picks over two years in return for Cooks.
Cooks, 23, is a former first-round pick of the Saints back in 2014. He’s entering the final year of his four-year, $8.4 million contract and stands to make a base salary of $781,599 for the 2017 season.
New Orleans will have to decide whether to pick up his fifth-year option in the coming months.
According to OverTheCap.com, trading Cooks would free up $1,563,198 of available cap space while creating $1,104,264 in dead money.
In 2016, Cooks appeared in 16 games for the Saints and caught 78 passes for 1,173 yards receiving and eight touchdowns. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 28 receiver out of 115 qualifying players.
We’ll have more regarding a potential Cooks trade as the news is available.
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