Patriots Acquire Brandin Cooks
The Patriots have acquired wide receiver Brandin Cooks and a fourth-round pick in 2017 from the Saints in exchange for first- and third-round picks this year, tweets Dianna Russini of ESPN. New England will receive the 118th selection, while Nos. 32 and 103 will go to New Orleans.
The Titans were also involved in the Cooks sweepstakes, but he’ll join the reigning Super Bowl champions instead. New England will now assume responsibility for the $781,599 bonus Cooks is due Monday, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link).
As of Thursday, the Patriots were reportedly considering sending cornerback Malcolm Butler to the Saints in exchange for Cooks. It’s still possible Butler will end up in New Orleans in a separate trade, according to Schefter, while Mike Reiss of ESPN.com notes that Butler couldn’t be a part of this deal because the restricted free agent is without a contract at the moment (Twitter link).
Still only 23 years old, Cooks was eminently productive in New Orleans during the first three seasons of his career and will now team with Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, among others, in a loaded group of targets for Pats quarterback Tom Brady. Cooks is coming off his second straight 16-game, 1,100-yard campaign. The 5-foot-10, 189-pounder also combined for 162 catches and seven touchdowns over the past two seasons.
Cooks will come with a modest $1.56MM price tag in 2017, but after a fifth-year option season at approximately $8.5MM, it’s possible he’ll enter eight-figure-per-year territory on his next contract. Barring an extension before then, the Patriots will have an opportunity to see how Cooks fares in their offense before deciding on his long-term future. New Orleans, meanwhile, still has a pair of high-end receivers in Willie Snead and Michael Thomas, thereby rendering Cooks expendable in the club’s estimation. The likelihood is the Saints will look to strengthen their defense with their newly acquired first-rounder.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/10/17
Rounding up some of this week’s tender decisions:
RFAs:
Tendered:
- Chiefs: WR Albert Wilson (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk)
Non-Tendered:
- 49ers: CB Chris Davis (via Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com)
- Buccaneers: LS Andrew DePaola (via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times)
- Dolphins: TE Dominique Jones (via Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald)
- Saints: DE Kasim Edebali (via Herbie Teope of the Times-Picayune)
- Vikings: WR Charles Johnson (via Ben Goessling of ESPN.com)
ERFAs:
Tendered:
- Chargers: WR Isaiah Burse, TE Asante Cleveland, WR Geremy Davis, TE Sean McGrath, S Adrian Phillips (via Jack Wang of Los Angeles Daily News)
Contract Details: Garcon, Baker, Klein, Jones
Let’s take a look at some details of the free agent contracts signed today:
- Chris Baker, DL (Buccaneers): Three years, $15.75MM. $9MM guaranteed. $1MM in sack incentives each season (Twitter link via Master Tesfatsion of the Washington Post).
- Jack Crawford, DL (Falcons): Three years, $10.3MM. $3.75MM in 2017 (Twitter link via Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com).
- Pierre Garcon, WR (49ers): Two years, $23MM. $17MM guaranteed. Options for 2019 ($6MM), 2020 ($8.9MM), and 2021 ($9.6MM) (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today).
- Landry Jones, QB (Steelers): Two years, $4.4MM. $600K signing bonus (Twitter link via Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com).
- A.J. Klein, LB (Saints): Four years, $24MM. $4MM signing bonus. $9.4MM guaranteed. 2020 season will void Klein is on Saints roster on last day of 2019 league year (via Nick Underhill of the Advocate).
- Jeff Locke, P (Colts): Two years, $3.45MM. $1.25MM guaranteed (Twitter links via Ben Goessling of ESPN.com and Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star).
- Ryan Mallett, QB (Ravens): One year, $2MM. $1MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Pelissero).
- Akeem Spence, DL (Lions): Three years, $9MM. $3.5MM guaranteed. $1MM available via escalators (Twitter link via Peliserro).
- D.J. Swearinger, S (Redskins): Three years, $13.5MM. $9MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Kinkhabwala).
Extra Points: Raiders, Holmes, Whitworth
The latest from around the NFL:
- The Raiders are still in the mix for wide receiver Andre Holmes, Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com tweets. At least five other teams have shown interest in signing him this week.
- Left tackle Andrew Whitworth left the Bengals for the Rams because of his desire for long-term security, agent Pat Dye tells Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com. Whitworth’s deal with L.A. is a three-year, $36MM pact with $15MM guaranteed. The Bengals refused to go past one-year at $10MM.
- Jairus Byrd will be designated a June 1 cut, Nick Underhill of The Advocate tweets. The Saints informed Byrd of his release earlier this week.
- The Bengals are not interested in offensive lineman D.J. Fluker, Jim Owczarski of The Enquirer tweets.
- Kevin Zeitler says his best contract offers came from the Saints and Browns, Alex Marvez of SiriusXM tweets. His agent recommended Cleveland based on the money offered and that’s the direction he ultimately went in.
Titans Make Standing Offer For Brandin Cooks
The Titans have put their cards on the table. They have a standing offer out to the Saints for wide receiver Brandin Cooks, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
Tennessee has been working to land Cooks for the past week or so. The Eagles dropped out of the Cooks chase – and we can say that with certainty now that they’ve signed Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith – but the Patriots are still very much in pursuit. It’s not yet known what the Titans have offered to the Saints, but it may involve first-round compensation. The Titans own the No. 5 overall selection as well as the No. 18 overall pick. One scenario floated recently involved the Titans swapping their No. 5 pick for the Saints’ No. 11 pick.
The Patriots, meanwhile, are reportedly considering a trade that would involve cornerback Malcolm Butler going to New Orleans in exchange for the superstar wide receiver.
Photo courtesy of PFR on Instagram.
Nick Fairley, Saints Agree To Deal
The Saints have agreed to re-sign defensive tackle Nick Fairley to a four-year deal, per Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com (Twitter link). Financial terms aren’t yet available, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweeted earlier Thursday that Fairley was in line for “big money.”
Fairley, 29, hit free agency in each of the past two offseasons, but he settled for one-year deals on each occasion. In 2015, Fairley signed with a pact with the Rams that came with a base value of $5MM, but also included incentives and escalators. Last year, the Saints landed Fairley on a fully guaranteed, $3MM contract that voided 15 days prior to the start of the 2017 league year.
In his sixth NFL season, Fairley appeared in all 16 games for New Orleans and racked up 6.5 sacks, grading out as the league’s No. 34 interior defender, per Pro Football Focus. Fairley, a former first-round pick, earned exceptionally high marks for his pass rushing acumen (13th among defensive tackles), and quarterback pursuits have always been Fairley’s strong point.
Fairle was expected to test free agency in order to gauge his market value, and now it remains to be seen if he was able to secure the $10MM annual salary he was targeting. Fairley ranked as PFR’s No. 7 free agent interior defender.
Manti Te’o Visiting Saints
Linebacker Manti Te’o will visit the Saints today and tomorrow, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Te’o, the 38th overall pick in the 2013 draft, has been hindered by injuries throughout his career. As a rookie in 2013, Te’o suffered a foot injury in the preseason which sidelined him for the first part of the regular season. In the following year, the linebacker missed six games due to a foot fracture. In 2015, Te’o missed four games as the result of an ankle injury.
All told, Te’o has managed only 30 starts in four years with the Chargers, and he hasn’t been especially productive. Still, he ranks as the No. 13 free agent linebacker on PFR’s list, mostly based on perceived upside.
Saints To Sign Larry Warford
The Saints have agreed to sign free agent guard Larry Warford, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. It’s a four-year deal worth $34MM ($17MM guaranteed), reports Rapoport (via Twitter).
New Orleans was also in the running for Kevin Zeitler, a sure sign the club was hoping to improve the interior of its offensive line. Given that quarterback Drew Brees is on the shorter side, keeping him away from interior pressure is key, and a central factor in why the Saints have always invested in guard play. Warford will slot in at right guard opposite former first-round pick Andrus Peat, with Max Unger at center.
Warford, 25, is a former second-round pick, and though he’s been a full-time starter for the entirety of his career, he’s never been able to match the production exhibited during his rookie campaign. In 2016, for example, Warford started 15 games for the Lions and graded as the league’s No. 20 guard, per Pro Football Focus. That’s solid production, to be sure, but not evident of the elite level of talent Warford displayed in 2013.
Detroit was hoping to retain Warford, who ranks as PFR’s No. 4 free agent guard and No. 21 free agent overall. Instead, the Lions have now lost Warford and aren’t likely to re-sign fellow free agent offensive lineman Riley Reiff. Detroit hasn’t stopped paying for offensive lineman, however, as the team made Ricky Wagner the NFL’s highest-paid right tackle yesterday.
Warford’s addition in New Orleans likely signals the end of veteran Jahri Evans‘ run with the Saints. Evans, who had spent 11 season with New Orleans, only plays right guard, so he probably wouldn’t make sense even as a backup option.
Eagles Out On Brandin Cooks; Pats, Titans In
The Saints are expected to trade Brandin Cooks by the end of the day, and the Patriots and Titans both remain in contention for the wide receiver, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. The Eagles aren’t mentioned in Rapoport’s report, and are presumably out on Cooks after signing Torrey Smith earlier today.
The Patriots are thought to be mulling a trade of cornerback Malcolm Butler for Cooks, although the Saints may want even more. A package that includes a defensive contributor plus a draft pick is thought to be the asking price for Cooks. New England has also previously offered its first-round pick (No. 32) for Cooks, but the offer was reportedly rebuffed. At one point, the Titans were thought to be in the lead for Cooks, but it’s unclear exactly what they offered.
In 2016, Cooks caught 78 passes for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns. His yards-per-reception average of 15.0 was a career high and his 66.7% catch rate was a slight step up from his 2015 showing.
Saints To Sign WR Ted Ginn Jr.
The Saints have plucked two players from the rival Panthers in a matter of minutes. Wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. will be signing with New Orleans, according to Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The team announced that the wideout has been signed to a three-year deal.
Ginn, 32 in April, hasn’t quite justified his selection at No. 9 overall in 2007. However, he has bounced back in the last two years with Carolina. In 2015, he had 44 catches for 739 yards and a career-high 10 touchdowns. Last season, he had 54 grabs for 752 yards and four scores.
On Thursday morning, the Saints also signed linebacker A.J. Klein away from Carolina.
This move could signal a more seismic transaction from the Saints, because they now have four notable contributors at wide receiver in Ginn, Brandin Cooks, Michael Thomas and Willie Snead. Cooks, though, has been the subject of incessant trade rumors for over a week now despite having produced consistently in New Orleans. The 23-year-old talent has griped about his role in the offense, and as the 2016 season went on, Thomas showed he could have the makeup of a No. 1 receiver in the future.
The Saints and Patriots are reportedly discussing a Cooks-for-Malcolm Butler swap of players in the final year of their rookie contracts. Although, Cooks — being a former first-rounder — has a fifth-year option. Butler will need to be extended soon to give the Saints value in that deal.