One veteran former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver is still looking for a home—though maybe not for much longer.
The Athletic’s Daniel Popper put former Cowboys wide receiver Brandin Cooks at the top of his list of available NFL free agents on the eve of the NFL regular season, predicting Cooks will land on the NFL’s very worst team.
“The receiver market, like the edge market, has thinned out through the late spring and summer,” Popper wrote. “Stefon Diggs signed with the Commanders. Keenan Allen signed with the Colts. Deebo Samuel Sr. signed with the San Francisco 49ers. Cooks is the best remaining player of this group … Cooks can threaten defenses vertically. He is a refined and deceptive route runner. I like the Miami Dolphins as a fit here. Their offense is extremely thin at receiver. New quarterback Malik Willis needs some veteran help.”
Cooks played for the Cowboys for 2 seasons, in 2023 and 2024, after he was traded from the Houston Texans to Dallas before the 2023 season. Drafted in the 1st round (No. 20 overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints, Cooks has a staggering $125 million in career earnings through the end of the 2025 season — despite never making a Pro Bowl or earning NFL All-Pro honors.
Dominant Decade for WR Brandin Cooks
If you’re wondering how Cooks has made that much money without any postseason accolades, it’s kind of hard to explain. On paper, he definitely should have made at least 1 Pro Bowl.
In 7 seasons from 2015 to 2021, Cooks had 6 seasons of at least 1,000 receiving yards, and probably the most incredible stat above that is he did so for 4 different teams — the Saints, Los Angeles Rams, Houston Texans, and New England Patriots.
Cooks hasn’t had a 1,000-yard season since 2021, however, and missed 7 games due to injuries in 2024. In 2025, he played for the Saints and the Buffalo Bills.
Cowboys Might Have 1,000-Yard WR Trio
The Cowboys are as locked in at wide receiver as any team in the NFL and have the NFL’s elite 1-2 punch at the position with a pair of NFL All-Pros in CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
Beyond that, though, they might have a 3rd wide receiver capable of a 1,000-yard season — a rare feat in NFL history — with Ryan Flournoy.
ESPN’s Todd Archer singled Flournoy out as 1 of the NFL’s “Biggest Surprises” this offseason.
“Flournoy is coming off a 40-catch, 475-yard, four-touchdown season a year ago when he had two 100-yard games, so surprise might be a little much, but if something happens to CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, the Cowboys know what they have in Flournoy,” Archer wrote on June 22. “He is strong attacking the ball. This offseason, he has worked in the slot more.”
Flournoy managed to have his mini-breakout season in 2025 with just 4 starts while taking a backseat to wide receiver Jalen Tolbert. With Tolbert out the door to the Miami Dolphins in free agency, that WR3 role seems like it’s now Flournoy’s to lose.
Ex-Cowboys $125 Million WR Predicted to Sign With Dolphins