Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, citing a source with knowledge of the situation, reports that the Saints agreed to a revised contract with veteran WR Brandin Cooks before waiving him.
According to Florio, the Saints specifically agreed that Cooks would be released and he would forego all rights to the balance of his 2025 salary as termination pay, if/when he clears waivers.
However, the revised deal has reportedly complicated the situation and it’s possible the Saints won’t be able to release him.
Florio mentions that there’s a belief in league circles that Cooks is looking to join a specific team, likely a contender, so finding a way to go unclaimed would allow him to sign with a team of his choosing.
The issue is that NFL rules prohibit a team from creating a deterrent to waivers claims, so the Saints “re-revised” Cooks’ contract, according to Florio and restored the his full guarantee of $1.69 million.
This gives the Saints until November 26 to waive him and avoid paying it.
Florio points out that NFL rules two separate provisions that apply to teams attempting to deter waiver claims with the consequence being a a prohibition against waiving the player for the balance of the season.
Florio hears that the Saints may have been given an inaccurate interpretation of the rules, but it sounds like teams around the league aren’t happen.
“There is a story here that some want to go away quickly. But because the contracts were posted, teams know and want blood ,” a source tells Florio.
Beyond that, some believe there’s “a full-blown conspiracy involving the Saints, another team, and Cooks’s agent.”
Cooks, 31, is a former first-round pick of the Saints back in 2014. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $8.4 million contract when he was traded to the Patriots in 2017.
New England later picked up his fifth-year option for the 2018 season before trading him to the Rams for first- and sixth-round picks. From there, Cooks agreed to a five-year extension worth $81 million with Los Angeles, only to be traded to the Texans in 2020.
Cooks was set to make a base salary of $12.5 million for the 2022 season when he agreed to a two-year, $39.6 million extension with Houston. However, the Texans traded him to the Cowboys in 2023 for a mid-round pick.
The Saints signed Cooks to a two-year, $13 million deal this past March.
In 2025, Cooks has appeared in 10 games for the Saints and caught 19 passes on 25 targets for 165 yards receiving and no touchdowns.
