Brandin Cooks Joins the Bills

Brandin Cooks has found a new team. The experienced wide receiver was added to the active roster of the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday.

At 32 years old, Cooks was waived by the New Orleans Saints over the weekend. Following that, he was claimed on Monday by the Bills, who are looking for a reliable pass catcher as they approach Week 13.

Interestingly, he had requested his release from New Orleans earlier this month, which makes this move feel somewhat expected.

Having been a first-round pick from the Saints in 2014, this marks Cooks’ sixth team during his 12 NFL seasons.

Throughout his career, Cooks tallied 729 receptions for 9,697 yards and a total of 62 touchdowns. However, this season back with New Orleans hasn’t been particularly fruitful; he played in 10 games but only recorded 165 yards and 19 catches without any touchdowns.

In Buffalo, he steps into a wide receiver group that’s currently struggling with depth. The situation has worsened recently, especially with Mecole Hardman landing on injured reserve due to a calf injury and Gabe Davis being promoted from the practice squad.

Two other key players, tight end Dalton Kincaid and wide receiver Curtis Samuel, also missed the last game due to injuries. On top of that, Keon Coleman, whom the Bills moved up to select in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, sat out again after being tardy to a meeting earlier this month.

Overall, the Bills’ offense isn’t firing on all cylinders like we’re used to seeing. In fact, they’ve scored under 20 points in two of their last three games.

Despite these struggles, Buffalo is still surprisingly in the playoff hunt. After starting the season strong at 4-0, they’ve gone 3-4 over their last seven games. If the playoffs began today, the Bills would snag the third and final Wild Card spot in the AFC.