Cooks, Rams agree on extension
It has been a good month for former Patriots wide receiver Brandin Cooks.
He got married less than two weeks ago and yesterday Cooks signed a five-year contract extension with his new team, the Los Angeles Rams. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but the extension is worth $80 million, says a person with knowledge of the situation.
“It’s been an amazing month, and a blessing,” Cooks said.
Cooks, 24, was acquired in April in a trade with the Patriots. The former firstround draft pick by the New Orleans Saints has more than 1,000 yards receiving in three-of-four NFL seasons.
Cooks has scored 28 touchdowns, including seven last season.
“Brandin Cooks has shown himself to be a class act on and off the field since the first day he joined our team,” coach Sean McVay said. “He’s a proven professional in this league and signing him to a longterm contract was always our goal. We’re excited to keep Brandin in a Rams uniform through 2023.”
Cooks is beginning the fifth and final year of his rookie contract. He carries a salary-cap number of about $8.5 million in 2018.
From the day they traded for him, the Rams had spoken about trying to work out an extension with Cooks, who is expected to provide a deep-threat for quarterback Jared Goff. Cooks said at the time that his contract situation would take care of itself.
“What they had going on, even before I got here, you saw something special going on with this team and the coach,” he said. “It’s a young culture that’s very energetic.”
The signing of Cooks came a day after the deadline for the Rams to work out a long-term deal with safety Lamarcus Joyner, who will receive about $11.3 million playing this season under the franchise tag.
The Rams and defensive tackle Aaron Donald still have not come to terms on a new deal.
Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim has pleaded guilty to extreme DUI after a Fourth of July arrest in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Ariz. A police report shows Keim had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19. That’s more than twice Arizona’s legal limit of 0.08 for drivers. Keim entered his plea yesterday.
Dallas DE reinstated
The NFL has reinstated Dallas Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory, who was suspended all of last season over multiple violations of the league’s substance-abuse policy.
The league said yesterday Gregory can join the Cowboys at training camp next week and will be eligible for games as long as he continues to meet the terms of his reinstatement.
Gregory was suspended just before the Cowboys lost a playoff game to Green Bay during the 2016 season. He had been banned 14 games that year and played in the final two regular-season games before the latest suspension, his third.
Bell’s exit likely
Le’Veon Bell’s next season with the Steelers will almost certainly be his last.
The Pro Bowl running back and the defending AFC North champions failed to reach an agreement on a new contract by Monday’s deadline, meaning he will play under the franchise tag for a second straight year and hit the open market next spring.
Bell tweeted that “both sides worked extremely hard” to try and find common ground but ultimately could not.
“The NFL is a hard business at times . . . to the fans that had hope, I’m sorry we let you down but trust me, 2018 will be my best season to date,” the 26-year-old Bell posted.
Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said the team will make another attempt to re-sign Bell in the 2019 offseason.
Bell will make $14.5 million whenever he signs his franchise tender.