Veteran WR Now a Free Agent Option for Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings don’t utilize too many wide receivers after Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Jalen Nailor in the 2025 offense, but if the club flipped the script, it could add freshly-released veteran Brandin Cooks.
A veteran wide receiver is back on the market and now stands as a potential option for the Vikings as they sort through depth needs late in the season.
New Orleans and Cooks divorced this week, and he can sign anywhere in the NFL.
Vikings Have Option to Explore Brandin Cooks’ Free Agency
The man has quite the resume.
Cooks Out in New Orleans
The Saints said sayonara to Cooks on Wednesday. ESPN’s Katherine Terrell wrote, “The Saints have released veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks, the team announced Wednesday. He will become a free agent if he goes unclaimed on waivers. The Saints signed wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. off their practice squad in a corresponding move.”
“Cooks, 32, signed a two-year deal worth up to $13 million to return to the Saints in March but was not a major factor in the offense, finishing fifth on the team in receptions in the first half of the season. He had incentives in his contract for receptions, receiving touchdowns, playing time and receiving yards but did not hit any of them. He finished with 19 catches for 165 yards and zero touchdowns.”
The 32-year-old is expected to clear waivers, and then he’ll have the pick of the litter to choose a new employer.
Too Late for Vikings to Even Care?
Ideas like “sign Brandin Cooks!” would have some beef behind them if the Vikings didn’t own a disappointing losing record through 11 weeks.
Minnesota is 4-6 at the moment, and when it comes to intriguing free agents, would seasoned veterans really want to sign with a team that appears to be going nowhere? That’s the penalty for an underwhelming season.
Still, if one assumes that Cooks doesn’t fetch any free-agent attention, there is a path for Cooks to Minnesota, although somewhat unlikely.
Cooks’ Resume
Cooks possesses a monster resume compared to most of his peers, playing in the big leagues for 12 seasons and tabulating 729 receptions since 2014, with 9,697 receiving yards and 60 touchdowns. He’s also banked six 1,000-yard seasons over the years and is one of the best wide receivers of the last decade-plus, even if he’s overshadowed and underrated.
This season, the Saints have largely ignored Cooks, targeting him 25 times in 10 games. Cooks has the resume for more attention in an offense, though he’s nearing the end of his career.
Here’s his destination list as a pro:
- New Orleans Saints (2014–2016)
- New England Patriots (2017)
- Los Angeles Rams (2018–2019)
- Houston Texans (2020–2022)
- Dallas Cowboys (2023–2024)
- New Orleans Saints (2025)
Shockingly, Cooks has never reached a Pro Bowl, a very strange ordeal for a man with six seasons of 1,000+ yards.
What a Vikings WR Room Would Like with Cooks
Let’s pretend, momentarily, that Minnesota signs Cooks for the season’s final seven games. The WR depth chart would look like this:
- Justin Jefferson
- Jordan Addison
- Jalen Nailor
- Brandin Cooks
- Adam Thielen
- Tai Felton
- Myles Price
- Dontae Fleming (Practice Squad)
- Jeshaun Jones (Practice Squad)
- Rondale Moore (Injured Reserve)
More on Cooks’ Release
Bleacher Report’s Adam Wells on Cooks’ next steps: “After being mentioned as a potential trade candidate earlier this month, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks will be able to pick his next destination for the remainder of the season.”
“Per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, Cooks will become a free agent after agreeing to a mutual parting of ways with the Saints on Wednesday. For teams seeking help at wide receiver for the stretch run, Cooks immediately becomes a viable option as soon as he hits the free-agent market.”
When it’s all said and done, Cooks will probably latch onto a playoff-bound club. Why wouldn’t he?
Wells continued, “Some of the playoff contenders with an obvious need at wideout include the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers.”
“The Bills tried to make a big deadline splash with an offer for Jaylen Waddle, but the Miami Dolphins reportedly turned it down because they didn’t want to trade him within the division unless Buffalo would pay an even steeper price than they were asking from other teams.”
Cooks will turn 33 around the start of next season if he doesn’t retire. For curious minds, Cooks did not cross paths with Kevin O’Connell in Los Angeles when O’Connell coordinated the Rams’ offense. The pair missed each other by a year.
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