Brandin Cooks lands with new team ahead of hunt for 10,000 career yards

Brandin Cooks. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Brandin Cooks lands with new team ahead of hunt for 10,000 career yards

By Mike J. Asti | Last updated Sep 22, 2026 11:24 PM ET

As veteran wide receiver Brandin Cook's has found another opportunity to continue his career, he starts his comeback with a milestone dangling out there as a goal.

The San Francisco 49ers are signing Cook, first adding him to their practice squad, sources tell ESPN's Adam Schefter. Cook will be joining the practice squad in an effort to get him up to speed to be ready for game action with his new team.

Brandin Cook is on the verge of a major career milestone

But how long it will take Cook to be ready and what can be expected from the 32-year-old former first-round pick remains to be seen. However, whenever the 49ers feel comfortable utilizing Cook, he will then need just 189 yards to reach 10,000 for his career.

And while Cook has still shown an ability to be productive as a depth option in recent seasons, he's several years removed from when he was truly an impact threat. He spent a roller coaster 2025 season with the New Orleans Saints and then the Buffalo Bills.

Source: free-agent WR Brandin Cooks is signing with the 49ers practice squad, initially to get up to speed for games. It is year 13 for the former first-round pick from Oregon State who now is 189 yards short of 10,000 receiving yards for his NFL career. pic.twitter.com/oJ93YEdLFU
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 22, 2026

Brandin Cook's return to the Saints was short-lived in 2025

Months after signing a two-year, $13 million deal with the Saints, the team that drafted him with the No. 20 overall pick in 2014, Cook asked to be cut loose. New Orleans granted him that request and sent him to the Bills in late November.

Cook caught 19 passes for 165 yards in 10 games and three starts for the Saints and then made five receptions for 114 yards in five games and two starts for Buffalo. He did contribute in the playoffs, bringing in five balls for 78 yards in two postseason games.

Brandin Cook recorded the last of his six 1,000-yard seasons in 2021

Prior to his brief return to the Saints, Cook was down on the depth chart in two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. Cook was last able to be an important part of an offense in 2021. That was also the last time he surpassed 1,000 yards receiving, posting 1,037 in his second year with the Houston Texans, although it was a slight drop from the 1,150 he tallied in 2020.

To this point in his career, Cook has 734 receptions for 9,811 yards, highlighted by six 1,000-yard seasons. He has exactly 60 touchdown receptions in 173 NFL games with 149 starts.

How much will Cook be able to help Brock Purdy and the San Francisco offense? And when will he get to 10,000 yards?

Mike J. Asti

Mike Asti is an experienced media personality and journalist with a vast resume and skillset, most notably from time with TribLIVE Radio and WPXI-TV. Asti now serves as the Managing Editor of WV Sports Now, where he leads the coverage of WVU sports. He has also covered the Steelers, Penguins, Pirates and other teams within the Pittsburgh market

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