Saints Coach Sean Payton told Sirius XM Radio Tuesday that he “absolutely” expects wide receiver Brandin Cooks to be back with the team in 2017.
“If you really want to cut down to the chase, he’s a magnificent kid,” Payton said, per the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "[He’s] a worker. He’s not a kid anymore. He’s a tremendous player. He practices 100 miles per hour. You have to slow him down some. He’s got a great rapport with Drew [Brees].”
There had been some speculation that the Saints could look to move Cooks in order to help fix their leaky defense. That seems to have stemmed from comments Cooks made after he went without a touch in a blowout win late last season over the Rams.
“It was unusual; sometimes that happens,” Payton said. “And generally those things are an agent-driven complaint. And he’s too sharp of a guy, and he understands it all. He and I have met several times, and I think what’s most important is these guys come in the start of the week and they see their name stamped on plays.
“We’re up till 2 in the morning thinking about ways to get him open, get him on the right matchup. And when the players know that, I think they know they’re getting a real good script. Now, whether it plays out that way on a given Sunday, sometimes it doesn’t. But, more often than not, a guy like him, you have to get the ball to, and he’s explosive.
“But, I see him playing here.”
A first-round pick in 2014, Cooks had eight touchdown catches last season and has 20 over his three-year career. The Saints have until May to decide whether they’ll pick up the fifth-year option on Cooks’ contract for 2018.