The Cowboys will now officially have to replace Brandin Cooks.
The last two seasons have seen CeeDee Lamb emerge as one of the NFL’s best wide receivers, and he has done it all with Brandin Cooks as the Robin to his Batman.
While being one of the best wideouts in the league obviously says how good you are, every team needs a number of options to work in the passing game. The Cowboys traded for Cooks two years ago and he was a legitimate threat in 2023, but this past season was broken for the team in a number of ways.
However things ultimately get put back together, they will require pieces that are not named Brandin Cooks. It had felt doubtful that he would return to Dallas and now we officially know that he won’t. He is returning to somewhere, but it is to the New Orleans Saints, with new head coach Kellen Moore.
A reunion in New Orleans: 11-year veteran WR Brandin Cooks is headed back to the #Saints, sources tell The Insiders.
Cooks returns to the franchise that drafted him in the first round in 2014. pic.twitter.com/5hz6eNP0nu
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 21, 2025
New Orleans was the team who originally drafted Cooks and where his career began. Interestingly with Cooks joining a team he has played for, even if the season goes poorly for him, he will have had at least one 1,000-yard season for every team that he played for sans the Cowboys.
Cooks was a legitimate option for Dallas back in 2023. During that season he played in 16 games and had 54 receptions for 657 yards with eight touchdowns. That touchdown mark was the most he had in any season since his final one (obviously before now) in New Orleans way back in 2016.
Cooks only played in 10 games last year and had 26 receptions for 259 yards with three scores. A change of scenery is probably not a bad idea for everyone involved.
With Cooks now officially out of the fold the Cowboys still have to find a running-mate for CeeDee Lamb. They likely want to give Jonathan Mingo, who they traded a fourth-round pick for back at last season’s deadline, a chance and also have options like Jalen Tolbert, Jalen Brooks and Ryan Flournoy. KaVontae Turpin has a new deal and a potential role on offense, but he isn’t a pure wide receiver in terms of usage. For what it’s worth, the Cowboys did sign Parris Campbell in free agency.
Could Dallas spend their first-round pick at wideout? Is that why they are so comfortable being shallow there right now? We will see.