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According to Josh Katzenstein of Nola.com, the Patriots jumped into the trade market for WR Brandin Cooks with both feet, and were turned away.
The Patriots offered a package with the No. 32 pick for Brandin Cooks, but the Saints are aiming higher, per sources https://t.co/u43rbNqvkn
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) March 5, 2017
After two electric preseason performances against his defenses, Bill Belichick has been enamored with the speedy former first round pick. Cooks has amassed 215 catches, 2,861 yards, and 20 touchdowns in three seasons with the Saints.
Cooks is entering the fourth year of his rookie deal, and will carry a $1,563,198 cap hit to a new club if traded. That new club can, of course, choose to also pick up Cooks’ fifth year option, keeping him under contract until 2019.
A key factor in New Orleans rejecting this reported trade offer would be the interest Cooks has garnered from other clubs with considerably more draft resources than the Patriots, such as the Tennessee Titans (two first round picks).
No team in the league makes more trades than the Patriots, so this likely won’t be the last trade rumor we hear before the draft.
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