Saints releasing veteran WR Brandin Cooks, source says - ESPN

NEW ORLEANS — The Saints are releasing veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks, a source confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.

He will become a free agent if he goes unclaimed on waivers after the move is made official.

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 Saints drafted Cooks in the first round of the 2014 draft but traded him to the New England Patriots in the 2017 offseason. He has 729 receptions for 9,697 yards and 60 touchdowns in 12 seasons.

Cooks is the second Saints wide receiver to leave the team this season, as the team moved Rashid Shaheed to the Seattle Seahawks at the trade deadline.

New Orleans Football first reported on Cooks' release.