The San Francisco 49ers are turning to a well-traveled veteran to patch a battered receiver room, signing former New England Patriots 1,000-yard wide receiver Brandin Cooks to their practice squad, in a move reported Tuesday.
The move gives Cooks, who nine years after his New England stint sits 189 yards from 10,000 career receiving yards, a path back onto an NFL roster days after a workout with the Baltimore Ravens produced no contract.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news, writing that the deal will help Cooks “get up to speed for games.” It is his 13th NFL season for the former first-round pick out of Oregon State, and San Francisco has churned through wide receiver injuries all season, leaving Kyle Shanahan searching for bodies who already know how to run an NFL route.
Cooks, 32, has bounced through six franchises since New Orleans drafted him 20th overall in 2014, and his numbers have cratered from the six 1,000-yard seasons that once defined him. He caught just 24 passes for 279 yards last season split between the Saints and Buffalo Bills, and he has not cleared 700 yards since 2021 with the Houston Texans.
A Stockton, California, native, Cooks starred at Oregon State, winning the Biletnikoff Award as college football’s top receiver in 2013 before New Orleans made him a first-round pick the following spring.
Brandin Cooks’ Lone New England Patriots Season
New England traded a first- and third-round pick to the Saints for Cooks in March 2017, and he delivered immediately, catching 65 passes for 1,082 yards and 7 touchdowns while starting 15 games. Only Rob Gronkowski produced more for the 13-3 Patriots that season.
Then-Patriots quarterback Tom Brady became an outspoken admirer.
“Brandin Cooks has been such an incredible player since he got here,” Brady said following the AFC Championship win over Jacksonville, as quoted by CBS Sports. “I love playing with the guy. I love his spirit. I love his attitude. I love his will and determination. I love his leadership.”
Cooks carried that momentum into the postseason, catching six passes for 100 yards in the AFC title game before finishing with nine catches for 132 yards heading into Super Bowl LII. Against the Eagles, Philadelphia safety Malcolm Jenkins delivered a legal but violent hit that knocked Cooks out with a concussion in the second quarter. He finished with a single catch, and New England lost 41-33 without him.
Why the San Francisco 49ers Signed Brandin Cooks Now
Cooks reached Super Bowl LIII the following year with the Los Angeles Rams, losing again, and he still hasn’t shaken the sting of Buffalo’s overtime interception that ended his 2025 season in the divisional round.
“I will continue to process it until I get back on the field,” Cooks said, as quoted by The Athletic.
That drive now points toward San Francisco, where a practice squad deal lets him learn Shanahan’s offense without forcing the 49ers to commit a 53-man roster spot to a receiver no longer the deep threat he once was for Drew Brees and Brady alike.
Turning 33 on Friday, Cooks still has 189 yards standing between him and a milestone few receivers in NFL history ever reach, and a runway in San Francisco to keep chasing it.
Ex-Patriots 1,000-Yard Receiver Lands With 49ers After Lengthy Free Agency