Saints are paying $13 million to learn what the Cowboys already knew
The Dallas Cowboys made a great trade two years ago when they acquired Brandin Cooks from the Texans for a 2023 fifth-round pick and a 2023 sixth-round pick. It didn't result in much playoff success, but Cooks was a good player for Dallas over his two seasons.
Despite that, it wasn't a surprise when the front office allowed Cooks to leave as a free agent. While Cooks signed with the Saints before Dallas traded for George Pickens, it felt inevitable that they would upgrade at WR2, whether it was through the draft, free agency or trade market.
Unfortunately, Kellen Moore and New Orleans are quickly learning what the Cowboys already knew about the 12th-year pro.
Cowboys definitely made the right choice letting Brandin Cooks sign with the Saints
For a 31-year-old wide receiver, Cooks got a really good deal from New Orleans. He signed a two-year contract worth $13 million, with $7.75 million fully guaranteed and a $4.8 million signing bonus. Not too shabby.
Cooks finished his debut with three catches for 26 yards. It's an underwhelming stat line at face value, and it looks even worse when you consider Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler dropped back to pass 46 times. He ranked fourth on the team in targets (four) behind Chris Olave, Juwan Johnson and Rashid Shaheed.
The Saints would have hoped for a bigger impact from one of their bigger free agent investments. However, what did they really expect?
Cooks is clearly on the downswing of his career. While he missed a chunk of time with a knee injury, Cooks was outplayed by Jalen Tolbert last year. Tolbert is a player Cowboys fans would trade tomorrow if the opportunity presented itself. It would not surprise if Cooks is jumped in the Saints' target pecking order by second-year pro DeVaughn Vele before long.
The 31-year-old is a fine WR4 at this stage of his career, which begs the question of why the Saints gave him $7.7 million guaranteed to be the fifth or sixth option in their passing attack. They are more reckless with the salary cap than any team in the NFL, and this has the looks of another gamble that won't pay off.
Jets' Aaron Glenn 'disappointed but highly encouraged' by Week 1 loss
The New York Jets' 34-32 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers to open the Aaron Glenn era will feel like the one that got away, and for a team that is desperate for wins, this one will sting.
Having won all the major statistical categories except the score (most important one), there was plenty to like for the Jets, on both sides of the ball, with Justin Fields running Tanner Engstrand's offense well. The defense gave up a total of just 53 rushing yards but did allow four Aaron Rodgers passing touchdowns.
So, there were a lot of positive things to take out of Week 1, but one thing we know about Glenn is that he isn't about moral victories; he wants proper wins.
But what were his main takeaways from the loss?
“Disappointed, but highly encouraged on things that I saw on tape,” Glenn said. “From an offensive perspective, I think we played exactly the brand of football that we've been actually practicing going from OTAs all the way into training camp. Defensively, I thought our front did a really nice job of creating pressure and stopping the run. Exactly what we want to do to make a team one-dimensional.”
Encouraging signs from Jets in season opener
Justin Fields and the offense rolled for the most part...until the fourth quarter, when it hit the skids and scored on just one of their four possessions.
But it is Week 1, so we aren't throwing the baby out with the bath water; however, this loss was one that the Jets shouldn't have had. They did more than enough to win the game, and as Glenn mentioned, the offense played like it was supposed to, and the defense made Pittsburgh one-dimensional.
Yet Rodgers still tossed four touchdown passes to lead his new team to a win.
Disappointed but highly encouraged feels like the perfect summation of New York in Week 1.
Let's see if they can build on it.
