HEADLINES

Jared Cook

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/4/22-1/5/22

January 5th, 2022 at 11:32pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are Tuesday and Wednesday’s activations from and placements on the reserve/COVID-19 lists:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Jared Cook, LB Damon Lloyd (remains on IR)

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 12/31/21

December 31st, 2021 at 4:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the New Year’s Eve additions and subtractions from teams’ reserve/COVID-19 lists:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • Activated from practice squad virus list: T Drew Himmelman, LB Barrington Wade

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Chargers To Sign Jared Cook

March 18th, 2021 at 12:43pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Tight end news is just flying in, and this time it’s the Chargers finding a replacement for Hunter Henry. Los Angeles has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with veteran Jared Cook, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

The pact has a max value of $6MM, Schefter notes. The deal comes with $4.5MM guaranteed, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Cook’s last contract was worth $15.5MM over two years with the Saints, so he’s taking a bit of a pay cut for this season.

It’s a nice signing for the Chargers after they lost Henry to the Patriots on a massive deal, and Cook was one of the bigger name players left on the board. Cook is 33 now, but has remained an effective pass-catcher over the middle. This will now be the sixth team in Cook’s career that started as a third-round pick of the Titans back in 2009.

From Tennessee he made his way to the Rams, then the Packers, then the Raiders (where he had his best season in 2018), and finally the Saints the past two years. His production dipped a bit in 2020, but he still had 504 yards and seven touchdowns despite Drew Brees missing a handful of games and failing to push the ball downfield in others.

He was a Pro Bowler each of the previous two seasons in 2018 and 2019. In 2018 with the Raiders he had 896 yards and six touchdowns, and 705 yards and nine touchdowns the following year with New Orleans. Los Angeles had been linked to the Zach Ertz talks as a possible trade partner, but this now likely takes them out of the running there.

With Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Austin Ekeler all still in the fold, Justin Herbert will once again have a very solid group of weapons as he enters his sophomore campaign. The Chargers have also upgraded his offensive line big time, so watch out for this offense in 2021.

Saints Rule Out Alvin Kamara For Week 7

October 18th, 2019 at 2:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Alvin Kamara‘s ankle and knee injuries will prevent him from suiting up in Week 7. The Saints have ruled out their standout running back, per Katherine Terrell of The Athletic (on Twitter).

The third-year back did not practice this week. Kamara was questionable for Week 6 with an ankle ailment but played. This latest issue, believed to be a high ankle-type problem, will sideline him. This means Latavius Murray will start against the Bears. The Saints will also be without Jared Cook, who is also dealing with an ankle malady.

Kamara has already amassed 649 scrimmage yards. The third-year Saint is ahead of his pace from his first two dynamic seasons. A free agent addition to replace Mark Ingram, Murray has 205 yards from scrimmage. He’s averaging 4.3 yards per tote for the 5-1 Saints, who are seeking their fifth straight win without Drew Brees.

The other key free agent the Saints added to their skill-position corps this offseason, Cook will miss his first game since the 2016 season. The 32-year-old tight end is behind the pace he set with the Raiders last season. Through six games, Cook has recorded 15 receptions for 168 yards and two touchdowns. Longtime Saint Josh Hill and journeyman Brian Parker are the other tight ends on New Orleans’ roster.

Raiders Did Not Make Offer To Jared Cook

March 26th, 2019 at 8:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints won the Jared Cook pursuit, with the Patriots being their top challenger. Jon Gruden said in January the Raiders would be in on this bid to bring Cook back, but they look to have bowed out early.

Cook never received an offer from the Raiders, Vic Tafur of The Athletic notes (subscription required), and the team stopped returning calls from the tight end’s agent.

After trading Amari Cooper, the Raiders relied heavily on Cook last season. He finished with 896 receiving yards, far and away a career-high total and the most a non-Todd Christensen Raiders tight end has ever recorded. Cook, 32 next week, now joins the Saints, who needed some help to provide a supporting cast for Michael Thomas.

Gruden on Tuesday called it “sickening” the Raiders could not keep Cook, but Tafur indicates they were not all that serious about doing so. He had also indicated in November a desire to retain the well-traveled tight end. Cook signed for two years and $15.5MM (with $8MM fully guaranteed). The Raiders landed Cook for barely $5MM per year in 2017.

The Raiders will give Darren Waller a chance to succeed Cook, per Gruden. He of multiple suspensions, Waller caught six passes for 75 yards with the Raiders last season. It appears likely the Raiders, who also have Derek Carrier on their roster, will draft a tight end.

Saints To Sign Jared Cook

March 26th, 2019 at 11:42am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Saints are close to a deal with free agent tight end Jared Cook, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link). When the deal is inked on Tuesday, it’ll be a two-year contract worth $15.5MM, including $8MM fully guaranteed in Year 1, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). With incentives, Cook can earn up to $19MM between now and the end of the 2020 season.

Cook, 31, just wrapped up the best season of his NFL career, leading the Raiders in receptions (68), receiving yardage (896), and receiving touchdowns (6). Cook ranked as a top-five tight end league-wide in all three of those categories, while Pro Football Focus grades him ninth at his position. Additionally, Cook finished fifth among NFL tight ends in Football Outsiders’ DYAR — which measures value over a replacement level player — and 11th in DVOA, which quantifies value on a per-play basis.

The Saints are losing Ben Watson to retirement, but still have Josh Hill, Garrett Griffin, and Dan Arnold at tight end. Cook, clearly, would represent an upgrade over any of those options, and would project to see the majority of snaps and targets at the position in New Orleans.

A number of free agent tight ends — Jesse James, Tyler Kroft, and Nick Boyle among them — received multi-year deals worth $6-7MM annually, and Cook managed to top figures. Heading into free agency, he was widely viewed as the top tight end available on the open market.

New Orleans originally hosted Cook when the free agent market opened last Wednesday. At the time, both the incumbent Raiders and the Patriots were believed to be “monitoring” Cook’s market. There was some speculation that the Patriots would circle back to Cook in the wake of Rob Gronkowski’s retirement, but Cook kept his word and remained committed to the Saints.

Jared Cook Remains Committed To Saints

March 25th, 2019 at 11:08am CST by Zachary Links

Rob Gronkowski is retired – we think – and that leaves the Patriots with a serious void at tight end. Some have speculated that the Patriots could convince Jared Cook to back out of his not-yet-signed commitment to the Saints, but that won’t happen, according to Peter King of NBC Sports. 

Cook will not reconsider his decision, according to King. That’s disappointing news for the Pats’ front office, especially since they aggressively pursued the former Raiders tight end.

Cook would not have been a true “replacement” for Gronkowski, but he would have given the Patriots a quality pass-catcher to keep the offense moving. Last year, the 31-year-old started 14 of his 16 games, hauling in 68 receptions for 896 yards and six scores. It was the most productive season of Cook’s career, though he has topped 50 catches in three other seasons.

Instead, Cook intends to still sign with the Saints, where he has an opportunity to fill a role similar to the one occupied by Jimmy Graham years ago. Drew Brees tends to spread the ball around in the New Orleans offense, but Cook could be an opportunity to assert himself as one of the very best tight ends in the NFL, especially now that Gronk is focusing on non-football endeavors.

Patriots “Aggressively Courted” Jared Cook

March 24th, 2019 at 8:31am CST by Rory Parks

Veteran tight end Jared Cook has agreed to sign with the Saints, and we had heard that the Patriots were monitoring his market prior to that decision. However, it seems as though New England’s interest went beyond the monitoring stage.

Per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, a source close to Cook said the Pats aggressively courted the soon-to-be 32-year-old, who chose New Orleans instead because of the uncertain status of Rob Gronkowski. Gronk has still not committed to playing in 2019, but he may be leaning in that direction, so the Saints offer a clearer path to the top of the tight end depth chart.

The Patriots’ pursuit of Cook does not necessarily mean that they believe Gronkowski will choose to retire. If Gronk retires, Cook certainly would have been a worthy replacement, but if Gronkowski comes back, he and Cook could have teamed up to create a formidable tight end tandem (a la Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez).

Indeed, New England is in need of receiving help any way it can get it. The club made a push to sign free agent wideout Adam Humphries, and it was also in on Cole Beasley. Humphries and Beasley ended up signing with the Titans and Bills, respectively, outfits that do not profile as legitimate championship contenders in 2019.

Meanwhile, the Patriots have made a series of more low-key transactions, adding wideouts Maurice Harris and Bruce Ellington and re-signing Phillip Dorsett. Those deals could end up paying dividends, and it is never wise to discount New England’s offense, but the team would probably be feeling a bit better if Cook were in the fold.

Extra Points: WRs, Steelers, Edwards, Cook

March 13th, 2019 at 7:42pm CST by Rory Parks

Some assorted notes from around the NFL:

  • The Saints, Seahawks, and Patriots are continuing to monitor the wide receiver market, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (via Twitter). Golden Tate is the best receiver still unsigned, but there are a number of other notable names available. New Orleans is reportedly interested in bringing back Dez Bryant, and veterans like Michael Crabtree and Randall Cobb still have some value.
  • The Steelers are working to re-sign linebacker L.J. Fort, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Fort was primarily deployed on passing downs in 2018 and was an underrated part of Pittsburgh’s defense last season, racking up 48 tackles and a sack. Fowler notes that Fort has generated interest from other clubs.
  • Defensive lineman Mario Edwards is set to visit with the Saints tonight, tweets Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. The 25-year-old was claimed off waivers by the Giants in September after having spent the first three seasons of his career with the Raiders. The former second-rounder proceeded to play in 15 games for the Giants, compiling 14 tackles, two sacks, and one forced fumble.
  • The Raiders continue to monitor free agent tight end Jared Cook, writes Scott Bair of NBCSports Bay Area. The writer cautions that it’s “hard to imagine” the veteran returning, as he’s visited with the Saints and received interest from the Patriots. The 31-year-old started 14 of his 16 games last season, hauling in 68 receptions for 896 yards and six scores.
  • Trent Brown isn’t all that concerned about his role with the Raiders, tweets Bair. After playing left tackle for the Patriots in 2018, Brown said he’d be receptive to a switch to right tackle. As of right now, Kolton Miller is expected to start on the opposite side of the offensive line.

Saints To Host Jared Cook

March 13th, 2019 at 6:32pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Saints plan to meet with free agent tight end Jared Cook on Thursday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Meanwhile, both the Patriots and the incumbent Raiders are monitoring Cook’s market, tweets Vic Tafur of The Athletic.

Cook, 31, just wrapped up the best season of his NFL career, leading the Raiders in receptions (68), receiving yardage (896), and receiving touchdowns (6). Cook ranked as a top-five tight end league-wide in all three of those categories, while Pro Football Focus grades him ninth at his position. Additionally, Cook finished fifth among NFL tight ends in Football Outsiders’ DYAR — which measures value over a replacement level player — and 11th in DVOA, which quantifies value on a per-play basis.

The Saints are losing Ben Watson to retirement, but still have Josh Hill, Garrett Griffin, and Dan Arnold at tight end. Cook, clearly, would represent an upgrade over any of those options, and would project to see the majority of snaps and targets at the position if he lands in New Orleans.

A number of free agent tight ends — Jesse James, Tyler Kroft, and Nick Boyle among them — have received multi-year deals worth $6-7MM, and Cook should be able to top those figures. Heading into free agency, he was widely viewed as the top tight end available on the open market.

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