Saints, Brandin Cooks Release Saga Takes Another Turn

The New Orleans Saints announced earlier in the week that the team was waiving wide receiver Brandin Cooks. But, things have gotten more complicated.

New Orleans officially announced that transaction on Nov. 19th. The announcement was that the Saints were waiving Cooks, signing Kevin Austin Jr. to the active roster, and signing Jha'Quan Jackson to the practice squad. But, Cooks is still a member of the Saints organization.

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What's next for Brandin Cooks?

Sep 7, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks (10) is tackled by the Arizona Cardinals during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

ESPN's Adam Schefter was the first to report the snag in the release. Schefter noted that "contractual technicalities" delayed the release. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio shed more light on the situation and noted there's a chance that Cooks may not be released after all.

"The Saints plan to release Brandin Cooks," Florio reported. "The specific plan hatched by the Saints and Cooks, however, has complicated the situation. Possibly to the point that the Sants won’t be able to release him. Here’s what happened, per a source with knowledge of the situation — and based on contract documents PFT has reviewed. The Saints agreed that Cooks would be released with an agreement by the player to forego all rights to the balance of his 2025 salary as termination pay, if/when he clears waivers.

"It’s a device that was first employed with prominence in the Browns’ decision to release receiver Odell Beckham Jr. after the 2021 trade deadline. Beckham got his freedom, and the Browns didn’t owe Beckham the no-offset payment for the rest of the money he was due to make that season, if he cleared waivers. As to Cooks, there’s a belief in league circles that he has a specific team that he wants to join. A contender, most likely. And there was a concern that another team would claim Cooks, thwarting his effort to get to wherever he wants to go. And so the Saints and Cooks worked out a new contract, one that contained a poison pill aimed at making it unattractive to claim him on waivers...

"So now, in theory, the Saints will cut him before the revised guarantee vesting date of November 27. Unless they can’t."

So, essentially, the saga continues. Cooks currently is still a member of the Saints and even is on the team's Injury Report this week designated as "NIR - Personal."

What an odd week.

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