New Bills WR Brandin Cooks Reveals Why He Came to Buffalo
The Buffalo Bills made waves in free agency earlier this week when they signed veteran WR Brandin Cooks after he was cut by the Saints. The well-traveled Cooks has played for the Saints, Cowboys, and Rams in recent years, and may still have some mileage left on his tires in his 12th season.
Cooks had other suitors, but his decision to come to Buffalo gives the Bills a boost in their passing game. It’s been a struggle at wide receiver this year for the Bills, as only two Buffalo receivers have more than 300 receiving yards on the season — Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman. Shakir is an effective cog in the offense, but Coleman has been up and down this season and has been inactive the past two games due to maturity issues.
In his absence, the Bills have struggled to move the ball effectively. With TE Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo’s top option in the receiving game, missing time with an injury, it hasn’t been easy. The Bills rank ninth in the league in total offense, but have struggled to score with their opponents in the last few weeks, leading to some losses. Perhaps Cooks can help address that.
Buffalo Bills WR Brandin Cooks on Why he Chose Buffalo
Alex Slitz/GettyHOUSTON, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 20: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills gestures against the Houston Texans during the fourth quarter at NRG Stadium on November 20, 2025 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
On Wednesday, Cooks was asked what drew him to Buffalo over other destinations he could have chosen. One thing stood out in his answer: the ability of reigning league MVP QB Josh Allen.
“I mean, I just gotta be honest, the opportunity to be able to play with Josh is — I mean, you can’t pass up the opportunity,” Cooks said with a smile. “He’s a special player. All you do is hear about this organization from afar, how it’s a special place, how they treat players, and it’s all about ball. So I’m thankful to be here for sure.”
“I mean, there’s not a throw he can’t make,” Cooks later added on what he sees in Allen’s game. “And you can tell he goes out there and there is not anything that he cannot do. From a competitor’s spirit, you want that. I’m thankful to be a part of that. The guy’s huge, he can run, he can throw. He can do it all. But his energy and his leadership skills jumps off the screen, and I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”
Buffalo Bills WR Brandin Cooks on How he Acclimates to a New Offense
“You get here and you just get going,” Cooks said on how he learns new offenses after joining a team mid-season. “You know, you’re drinking from a firehose at the end of the day, just going out there, that’s the best way to learn. Be put out there, if you make a mistake, so what? Keep going. But I put it on myself to study at night, you know, my family’s not here with me, so I got all the time in the world. No excuses right now.”
“Every team has its way, but at the end of the day you kinda here some of [that] terminology pop back up and so when that happens, it makes that transition just a little bit easier.”
Cowboys Predicted to Land Micah Parsons’ Replacement With Young Edge
After trading Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday, the Dallas Cowboys have some questions to answer regarding their long-term future. It’s still possible that the Cowboys could be a decent team this year, but they certainly aren’t as talented as they were a few days ago.
Ultimately, the Cowboys will have to find a way to replace Parsons, and that may be easier than some think.
With two first-round picks acquired in the deal with the Packers, the Cowboys now have an opportunity to go out and make a huge move in the draft next year by having an extra first-round pick. When examining who they could select with one of those picks, Fox Sports has them choosing Rueben Bain, an edge rusher from Miami who recorded 7.5 sacks as a freshman.
“Bain was a freshman All-American in 2023, but his sophomore season was hampered by injuries. He has elite burst and is relentless with his hands. While he’s no Micah Parsons, he’s the same height as him (6-foot-3) and has similar athletic traits when it comes to pass-rushing,” they wrote.
Replacing Micah Parsons in the NFL Draft
The Dallas Cowboys picked the best time to move on from Parsons, even though it likely wasn’t the right decision to trade him. At the end of the day, the Cowboys did what they believed was the right thing to do, and despite how difficult it is to justify their move, they made it and can only look towards the future. However, CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards doesn’t believe the trade was as bad as it sounds, noting that with the edge rushers available next year, including Bain, the Cowboys should be more than fine moving forward if they land one of them.
“Edge rusher outwardly appears to be a position of strength in the 2026 NFL Draft. Whether it is Bain, Auburn’s Keldric Faulk, Clemson’s T.J. Parker or another prospect, Dallas should be in position to address the position. Bain is a sawed off, powerful pass rusher. Over the course of two seasons, he has amassed 11 sacks, 73 pressures and three forced fumbles,” he wrote.
Cowboys Have a Good Player in Kenny Clark
The Dallas Cowboys also got a decent player, with Kenny Clark coming back in return. Jerry Jones noted that he’s elite at stopping the run, but PFF didn’t have him as that over the past few years. Still, as Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports noted, it’s possible that he could eventually be that again.
With how poor the Cowboys’ run defense was a year ago, it really can’t get much worse.
“What they lose from a pass-rushing perspective, Jones, who said as much in his Thursday night presser after the trade, hopes to gain an edge at stopping the run with the arrival of Clark. Last season, the Cowboys surrendered 137.1 rushing yards per game (29th in the NFL), 4.8 yards per carry (30th), and 25 rushing touchdowns (32nd). Given how poor the run defense was, Clark should help some. How much? Well, Jones will need him to turn back the clock to earlier in his career, as he’s registered subpar run defense grades over the last few seasons, per Pro Football Focus,” Sullivan wrote.
Regardless, as it’s even clearer than it was a few days ago, the Cowboys need help on that side of the football, and should address it in the 2026 NFL draft.
