New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks (10) looks on during minicamp | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
The New Orleans Saints cut Brandin Cooks this week in a move not many people saw coming. However, Cooks, shortly after the trade, deadline teased the displeasure that likely led to this divorce. It's just no one was listening. So to answer the question, if a tree falls in the forest, yes it still makes a sound.
Cooks was commonly thrown out as a trade target in the early portions of the season. He was an older guy on a team that was struggling. It didn't matter that the Saints had just signed him. Cooks fit the criteria to be traded. Maybe he thought he was going to be out the door too, and when he wasn't traded, Cooks' frustration seeped out.
_**"For me, personally, I just know I can play at a high level. Obviously, it’s been frustrating with the minimum opportunities, but all I know is to grind, all I know is to work. And hopefully get more opportunities as I continue to display that. I’m not just a guy that’s a vet, that’s like, ‘Oh I’m good, I’m just glad to be playing football.’**_
_**"I know that fire is still there. I want to compete, go out and make plays and help my team wi**_n."
Brandin Cooks made the wrong call this offseason, and the Saints only made it worse
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Cooks didn't hide his frustration. He blatantly stated he was frustrated and wanted more opportunities. The only question is what now since he wasn't traded. The next week, against the Panthers, Cooks played exactly half the snaps, second lowest percentage of the season.
You ask for more opportunities and get less. It wouldn't be hard to point to that as Cooks' potential breaking point. The public statement likely wasn't the first time he's said it, and it was immediately followed by his snap percentage slashed for the third week in a row. A week later, Cooks is asking for and being granted his release.
The truth is marriage never really made sense. Cooks turned 32 years old in September. He needed to be on a team competing for something. He signed when Derek Carr was still expected to be the starter. The Saints would have been better with the veteran, but it still wouldn't have been projected as a contender.
It just never felt like it made sense, and Cooks' next landing spot could tell us if teams like New Orleans are his just new market. That would also explain why he wasn't moved at the deadline.
It was a terrible situation, but once he was on the team, his lack of usage made it worse. The Saints passing attack simply hasn't made much use of their wide receivers. Cooks never saw a bunch of targets, then his snaps decreased. Cooks became an older, seldomly used receiver on a bad team. That sounds a lot like a veteran who's just glad to be playing football, which is exactly what Cooks didn't want to be.