Tom E Curran: Brandin Cooks was good but wasn't perfect fit

Greg M. Cooper | USA TODAY Sports

Brandin Cooks showed up, did his job well and is now off on another adventure.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the 24-year-old wide receiver is no longer a New England Patriot. He will be donning a Los Angeles Rams’ jersey next year.

In a year that New England was without offensive weapons Julian Edelman, Malcolm Mitchell and Chris Hogan (for a while), Brandin Cooks showed up in a big way to help out his team. He played in all 16 games, made 65 catches, had 1,082 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. He also caught ten passes for 155 yards in the playoffs.

Yes, “Cookie” was good to the Patriots. But with Edelman, Mitchell, Hogan, Rob Gronkowski and company, New England will be just fine.

Here’s some of what Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston has to say on the subject:

“Cooks was good and, at 24, he’s bound to get better. But he wasn’t a seamless fit with the Patriots. He’s a vertical, downfield, outside-the-numbers receiver and the Patriots are not a vertical offense, they are a horizontal offense.”

“The Patriots were able to ship a player they would likely have lost in free agency after the 2018 season (Cooks will hit the market next March) and turn him into a first-round pick who will probably help the program for at least four seasons. They will also dodge his $8.5 million salary.”

“So in the end, the Patriots got back a little bit more than they initially paid for Cooks. And they got a year of his services when they desperately needed it. That’s a win for them.”

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