Saints WR Brandin Cooks could be traded ahead of deadline for NFL-record fifth time

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With the NFL Nov. 4 trade deadline a little over a week away, plenty of big names are being discussed — and eventually shot down.

As Raiders owner Mark Davis told NFL.com this past week during the Fall League Meeting in New York, “Everybody wants to have your great players,” and most stars on teams with poor records do not get traded.

Here is a familiar name who could be dealt: Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks.

If that happens, Cooks would make history.

Cooks, 32, has been traded four times in his 12-year career, tied for most in NFL history with linebacker Kiko Alonso and Hall of Famer running back Eric Dickerson. Cooks was traded from the Saints to the Patriots in 2017; the Patriots to the Rams in 2018; the Rams to the Texans in 2020; and the Texans to the Cowboys in 2023.

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Cooks, who has 14 catches and 127 yards in seven games this season, would become the first NFL player to be traded five times if he is dealt.

And according to sources, a Cooks trade is very possible.

He is one of several Saints veterans being discussed as potential trade targets around the league, with fellow wide receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed joining him in that conversation. Olave is unlikely to be traded, sources say, while it could be on the table for Shaheed.

Cooks signed a two-year, $13 million deal this past offseason. The contract included a $4.8 million signing bonus and a base salary of just $1.26 million, which makes it a deal that’s easy to trade. Salary cap-wise, it’s easier to trade, as well.

While the Saints have started the season 1-6, it does not seem to be a situation in which veterans are dying to be traded out of New Orleans. For instance, Alvin Kamara told the organization he’d retire if he was traded, and several other veterans not only understand where the team is development-wise but want to stick around and be part of what the Saints are building.

For Cooks, there seems to be an openness on both sides in moving on. When Cooks signed with the Saints in March, there was still the belief that Derek Carr would be his quarterback. Two months later, Carr retired, creating a transition year under rookie head coach Kellen Moore.

Saints general manager Mickey Loomis is known in the building as someone who understands veterans and treats them as professionals. Allowing Cooks to play for a contender (if the right deal arose) would be another example of that.

In a trade market that currently does not seem flush with talent, Cooks could be a productive acquisition for a WR-needy team.

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