Prior to the Patriots being the winner of the Brandin Cooks sweepstakes, the Eagles made an offer that included veteran safety Malcolm Jenkins, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports.
However, the rest of the Eagles’ offer wasn’t quite sufficient enough for the Saints to send Cooks to Philadelphia. Philly offered a third- and a fourth-round pick to the Saints for Cooks, per Florio, who adds the Saints wanted Jenkins and a second-round selection. The Patriots landed Cooks for the No. 32 overall pick, along with a 2017 third-rounder.
Jenkins, of course, spent the first five seasons of his career with the Saints before signing with the Eagles in 2014. He made his first Pro Bowl for the Eagles a year later. Now entering his age-29 season, Jenkins is signed through the 2020 campaign after inking a second Eagles contract — for four years and $35MM — last year.
The Eagles attempted to trade for Cooks at the 2016 deadline and resurfaced with interest last week, joining the Titans and Patriots in pursuit of the coveted 23-year-old wide receiver. The team held Cooks in high regard dating back to the 2014 draft. Philly was reportedly eliminated from the running earlier than Tennessee, which made a standing offer for the fourth-year wideout that may have been better than the Eagles’ Jenkins-fronted package.
However, the Eagles revamped their 2017 receiving corps without making a trade. They signed both Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, and while neither is as young or cheap as Cooks, both figure to make a big impact on what was a depleted Philly wideout corps prior to this week.
