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.

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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.