Rams sign receiver Brandin Cooks to 5-year contract extension
RICH HAMMOND
link: https://www.dailynews.com/2018/07/17/rams-sign-receiver-brandin-cooks-to-5-year-contract-extension/
Brandin Cooks made two major commitments this month, one with a ring and one with a pen.
Cooks got married and then took the Rams, for richer and certainly not for poorer. Cooks, one of the NFL’s speediest receivers and a consistent 1,000-yard producer, signed a five-year contract extension on Tuesday, a deal worth approximately $80 million that will expire after the 2023 season.
That’s a major move, given Cooks has yet to play a down for the Rams. They acquired him from New England in April for first- and sixth-round draft picks. Cooks had been set to play this season under the fifth-year option of his rookie contract and could have become an unrestricted free agent next March.
There’s mutual affection. The Rams believe Cooks can be the hinge to their offense as a high-volume, deep-ball threat, and Cooks said he instantly felt comfortable with his new surroundings.
“Even before I got here, you saw something special going on with this team,” Cooks said in a conference call, “with the coach and a great owner and the teammates that I’m involved with now. It’s a young culture that is very energetic and has something going on. When I got here, it was all just about buying into that culture. I think that feeling was kind of generated right away when I got into the building.”
The No. 20 overall pick of the 2014 draft by New Orleans, Cooks had been set to make approximately $8.5 million this season, but a small portion of that money now will be spread to future years. As part of the extension, Cooks received $20.5 million in guaranteed money and his average salary will be approximately $16 million per season.
Cooks, who turns 25 in September, should be an important component of the Rams’ offense this season. He has totaled more than 1,000 yards in each of his past three seasons and also has 27 touchdowns in 58 regular-season games.
“Brandin Cooks has shown himself to be a class act on and off the field since the first day he joined our team,” Rams coach Sean McVay said in a statement provided by the team. “He’s a proven professional in this league and signing him to a long-term contract was always our goal.”
Cooks is expected to be a prime target for quarterback Jared Goff as part of a Rams offense that scored the second-most points in the NFL last season, and Cooks could add a new dimension.
In 2017, the Rams spread around the ball with amazing evenness. Running back Todd Gurley led the team in receptions with 64, followed by Cooper Kupp (62), Robert Woods (56) and Sammy Watkins (39).
The Rams continue to value that balance but believe they have something special in Cooks, who has been a 1,000-yard receiver in each of his three full NFL seasons, after being a part-time player as rookie due to injury.
In essence, the Rams hope Cooks fulfills the promise that Watkins seemed to hold a year ago,
Last August, the Rams traded a second-round pick and cornerback E.J. Gaines for Watkins, whom they believed would be a highly productive outside receiver. Watkins struggled to find a place in the Rams’ offense and totaled only 593 yards but did thrive in the red zone, with eight touchdowns.
The Rams hope that Cooks will be more consistent than Watkins, be productive on his own and also open up space on the field for his fellow receivers and Gurley.
The only issue about Cooks is that, at age 24, he already is with his third NFL team. New Orleans traded him after his third season, and after some strife about how many times Cooks was targeted. New England gave up a first-round pick to get Cooks for one season, then flipped him to the Rams rather than sign him to a long-term extension.
Thus far, the new relationship is thriving. McVay raved about Cooks during the Rams’ offseason program, and General Manager Les Snead said in April that he would be pleased “if my son could grow up to be half as respected as” Cooks.
Cooks said his quick comfort level with the Rams made it easy for him to agree to a new contract.
“I just wanted to come in and learn the culture and buy into that and let everything else take care of itself,” Cooks said. “Once they brought (an extension) up, that’s when we got involved, but at the end of the day, it was all about coming in and meeting the new coach, meeting the new guys and coming together as one and showing them that I’m here to help them win and be the best teammate I can be.”
Reaching a new deal with Cooks brings multiple benefits to the Rams, who not only have a No. 1 receiver locked up through his prime years but also have increased clarity about their salary-cap future. The Rams still need to sign star defensive lineman Aaron Donald to a new contract, and now they have a better idea of how much they could afford to pay Donald over the next few seasons.
Also, Cooks’ future is secure, both professionally and personally. He signed his new contract just weeks after he married his fiancee, Bri, in Portland, near the end of a busy offseason.
“The highlight was marrying my best friend,” Cooks said. “It’s been an amazing month, a blessing.”
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Agamemnon
