Considering they only won four games, there weren’t many positives to take away from the Oakland Raiders’ season in 2018. Perhaps the biggest though was the production of tight end Jared Cook, who had the best season of his 10-year NFL career.
Cook posted career-highs in targets (101), receptions (68), yards (896) and touchdowns (six), leading the Raiders in all of those categories as well.
For that reason, he may have priced himself out of the Raiders’ range as he hit free agency at the end of the year. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Cook has agreed to sign with the New Orleans Saints:
The #Saints are expected to sign free agent TE Jared Cook, sources tell me and @TomPelissero. One of the top free agents still out there, Cook gives QB Drew Brees an immediate big-time weapon.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 21, 2019
This marks the end of Cook’s two-year tenure with the Raiders as he will now be joining Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas on the Saints’ high-powered offense.
Oakland’s focus on the offensive side of the ball this offseason has been adding wide receivers for Derek Carr to throw to, so the team is currently without a clear-cut replacement for Cook. There is still plenty of time to address that through the draft or free agency though.
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