Brandin Cooks: Everything you need to know

Cooks appeared in 15 regular-season contests with the Saints (10 games) and Bills (five) in 2025 and caught 24 passes (on 36 targets) for 279 yards. Cooks saw four targets or less in nine of his 10 games with the Saints. He requested a trade from New Orleans but was not moved by the trade deadline, which prompted the Saints to waive the veteran wideout in mid-November. Cooks opted to finish the year off with Buffalo, and his Bills tenure was highlighted by his performance in a Week 17 loss against the Eagles in which he caught four passes (on six targets) for 101 yards. Injuries to the Bills' pass-catching corps resulted in Cooks stepping into a larger role on offense during the postseason, when he logged five catches (on 11 targets) for 78 yards in two games. The 2014 first-round pick will enter the offseason as an unrestricted free agent.

Cooks caught three of five targets for 58 yards in the Bills' 27-24 win over the Jaguars in the wild-card round Sunday. The veteran wideout got open for a 36-yard gain just before the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter, helping to set up a one-yard TD plunge by Josh Allen for the game-winning score. Cooks has been a valuable addition for Buffalo since being picked up late in the regular season, and over his last two games he's delivered a 7-159-0 line on 11 targets while providing a downfield threat to complement possession receiver Khalil Shakir. Cooks will likely need to make an impact again if the Bills are going to advance past the divisional round next weekend.

Cooks wasn't listed on Wednesday's injury report, confirming that he's healthy heading into Sunday's wild-card round game at Jacksonville. Cooks was inactive for the regular-season finale against the Jets, but that was a coach's decision and the veteran wide receiver is healthy heading into the playoffs. It remains to be seen which options the Bills dress at the position against the Jaguars, as Cooks, Joshua Palmer (ankle), Tyrell Shavers, Gabe Davis and Keon Coleman have all contributed to various degrees but struggled to find consistency behind the team's No. 1 wideout Khalil Shakir. Cooks had 101 receiving yards in Week 17 against the Eagles but only 13 receiving yards across four other regular-season appearances with Buffalo.