The Los Angeles Rams made another huge addition to the roster by working out a trade to acquire veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks from the New England Patriots. The move has brought forth a potentially huge asset to the passing game that could help take the Rams to the next level in the 2018 NFL season.
However, it has also sparked questions about Cooks’ contract situation as he’s currently in the fifth-year option of his rookie deal worth nearly $8.5 million next season. During an interview with Alden Gonzalez of ESPN after his introductory press conference, the 24-year-old voiced much optimism toward the opportunity of working out a new long-term deal to remain in Los Angeles:
Brandin Cooks, on figuring out a long-term deal with the Rams: "It's one of those things. You think about it. It'd be an extreme blessing to be here for the long haul and come here, being with a special group of guys. At the end of the day, it's not something that I'm pressing."
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) April 5, 2018
There is a clear interest from Cooks to potentially hammer out an extension to stay with the Rams if the opportunity were to present itself. Furthermore, there have already been rumblings that the organization is interested in possibly getting a new contract in place at some point this offseason.
From these type of comments that Cooks has spewed about the Rams, it certainly sounds like the level of interest in mutual. All of this could quickly lead to both sides agreeing to a deal in the coming weeks with the chance of that occurring before training camp next month.
Nonetheless, Cooks looks to be entirely onboard with being a major part of the team’s offense in the passing and long-term future. He has plenty to offer as a legitimate deep-ball threat that has big-play ability that could lead to the Rams having an even more explosive offense in 2018. If anything, this is a situation to monitor over the rest of the offseason as the Rams begin to truly round out their roster for the upcoming year over the next few weeks.
