Possible free agent: TE Jared Cook (1 Viewer)

[bclemms]

Jared Cook Measurables
6'5" 248lb
25 years old
4.49 40 yard dash
39.5" vertical
35 3/4" arm length
10 1/4 inches hands
drafted 89th overall

This is very comparable to Jimmy Graham
6'6" 260lb
26 years old
4.53 40 yard dash
38.5" vertical
35" arm lenth
10 5/8" hands
drafted 95th overall

Jared Cook has never quite performed up to expectations with the Titans. I'd suspect it is because he struggled to get on the field prior to the 2011 season due to splitting time with Bo Scaife. In 2011 and 2012 he has suffered from very inconsistent QB play and a passing game that is built more around the WRs in the passing game.

While his performance wasn't up to expectations, it was hardly what I would call bad. Betweem the 2011-2012 seasons he had over 90 catches for more than 1300 yards. This kid is very athletic, has good hands, is a surprisingly good blocker and is just waiting for the right system and QB to explode.

Here are his highlights out of college since the NFL has gotten so anal about youtube videos.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/A8x2pV7IoE4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sDb79EAePss" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I know the argument against signing an offensive player in free agency with our cap issues but hear me out. Cook can probably be signed to a long term, cap friendly deal and the TE position is probably the most underpaid position in the NFL. We can probably get him for 5 year $20 million or something in that range. He would be a great compliment to Jimmy Graham and we would have Graham's replacement if he went down for any amount of time. Plus we could run some 2 TE sets which allow a huge amount of flexability in both the running and passing game. He is also 25 years old and a very gifted athlete which is never a bad thing to add.

So here is the kicker. If we signed him to a 4-5 year cap friendly deal we could get him to where it would count about $2 million against the cap this season with a low salary and nice signing bonus. I know we can't really afford $2 million for a 2nd TE but here is the best part. Dave Thomas is on the last year of his contract and will count $1.5 million against the cap. If we released Thomas he wouldn't leave any dead money. In other words, we can upgrade to cook for almost nothing.

 

[1badsailor]

90 catches over 1300 yards twice? Sound like a gamer..

 

[bclemms]

90 catches over 1300 yards twice? Sound like a gamer..

Fixed.

That was over 2 seasons.

 

[Saints420Fan]

he is one of the brighter spots on that team. For the right price i wouldn't hate him coming here at all

 

[CanadaSaint2006]

For the right price, why not? How good of a blocker is he?

 

[bclemms]

For the right price, why not? How good of a blocker is he?

Decent. Better than expected for his athletic ability but not great. He does particularly well when blocking in space because of his big frame and long arms. He struggles against stronger DE's and LBs that can get under his pads.

 

[CRESS_137]

Would welcome him with open arms. I love D Thomas, but TE has become an area of need in my opinion.

 

[CajunSaint]

Yes please.

 

[bclemms]

It is possible the Titans tag him but Cook requested a trade just before the trade deadline last season and when his position coach was fired he spoke out against it. He doesn't want to be in Tn for obvious reasons and the Titans probably don't want to tag a guy that could end up being a headache. He only played about 45% of the teams snaps last season because they took him off the field in running situations in favor of a very good run blocking TE. I'd be willing to bet if he was in Graham's place he'd put up similar numbers.

I know most people wont want to hear this but the Jimmy Graham contract situation has a very high chance of getting really ugly. I also wouldn't be shocked to see a possible hold out from Graham this season either. Next season Graham is scheduled to make $575k compared to Gronk who is going to make close to $5 million after bonuses. If Graham hits free agency he'd get $6-$8 million a season or he'd make about the same in a game that he'll make all of next season. When the numbers add up like that, particularly given how much Graham has outperformed his rookie contract then a hold out is a very real possibility since an injury would cost him more than he makes the entire 2013 season. If he doesn't hold out then we'll likely tag him for a couple seasons before offering him a real contract which also won't sit well with Graham. We can tag him for about $5.2 million in 2014 and about $6 million in 2015 which is less than what it would take to sign him to a long term deal. It would also leave Graham knocking on 30 years old before ever becoming a free agent.

Yes, it is probably wrong to do a guy that way but when the team is squeezed for cap space and hasn't negotiated a contract going into the last year of Graham's rookie deal then it sure looks like things are heading in that direction. Normally I don't agree with holdouts but this is one case where I could certainly see it being justified.

 

[Fleur de Lies]

If we could get Cook at the right price and sign Jimmy to a long-term contract after sorting out the cap mess, sure... it would also save us from being tempted to grab a tight end in the draft with so many needs on defense, which I see a lot of people here buying into.

 

[scrummy mustard]

It is possible the Titans tag him but Cook requested a trade just before the trade deadline last season and when his position coach was fired he spoke out against it. He doesn't want to be in Tn for obvious reasons and the Titans probably don't want to tag a guy that could end up being a headache. He only played about 45% of the teams snaps last season because they took him off the field in running situations in favor of a very good run blocking TE. I'd be willing to bet if he was in Graham's place he'd put up similar numbers.

I know most people wont want to hear this but the Jimmy Graham contract situation has a very high chance of getting really ugly. I also wouldn't be shocked to see a possible hold out from Graham this season either. Next season Graham is scheduled to make $575k compared to Gronk who is going to make close to $5 million after bonuses. If Graham hits free agency he'd get $6-$8 million a season or he'd make about the same in a game that he'll make all of next season. When the numbers add up like that, particularly given how much Graham has outperformed his rookie contract then a hold out is a very real possibility since an injury would cost him more than he makes the entire 2013 season. If he doesn't hold out then we'll likely tag him for a couple seasons before offering him a real contract which also won't sit well with Graham. We can tag him for about $5.2 million in 2014 and about $6 million in 2015 which is less than what it would take to sign him to a long term deal. It would also leave Graham knocking on 30 years old before ever becoming a free agent.

Yes, it is probably wrong to do a guy that way but when the team is squeezed for cap space and hasn't negotiated a contract going into the last year of Graham's rookie deal then it sure looks like things are heading in that direction. Normally I don't agree with holdouts but this is one case where I could certainly see it being justified.

Agreed with everything you said (*edit I agree with everything besides putting up similar numbers to Jimmy, that is a stretch to me). Also I'll add in the fact that if we were to sign a TE for nearly 8 times Jimmy's salary (just going on the 5 years 20 mil you quoted) how do you think that would sit with him?? If that were to happen I feel like the possibility of a holdout would go up exponentially.

 

[guillermo]

I am not against it, but I sincerely doubt the saints will bring another free agent or even draft early in the position until Jimmy Grahams has his contract re-done.

Giving another player a big contract in the position when Graham is earning peanuts, would be a slap in the face, even if they talk to Jimmy before doing it.

It may all depends if they can sign Graham to an extension before the start of free agency, but I sincerely we have the cap space to do so.

 

[bclemms]

Agreed with everything you said (*edit I agree with everything besides putting up similar numbers to Jimmy, that is a stretch to me). Also I'll add in the fact that if we were to sign a TE for nearly 8 times Jimmy's salary (just going on the 5 years 20 mil you quoted) how do you think that would sit with him?? If that were to happen I feel like the possibility of a holdout would go up exponentially.

Yeah, that would stink for Graham. Then again, we could offer him the same contract plus 25% and if he didn't sign it then he is only making less by his own decision. Plus he will only be making less for one season.

 

[scrummy mustard]

Yeah, that would stink for Graham. Then again, we could offer him the same contract plus 25% and if he didn't sign it then he is only making less by his own decision. Plus he will only be making less for one season.

Very true, it would be his decision, but it would also be the saints decision to low ball him.

Theoretically it would be great to sign him to a cap friendly deal before mini camp, but I don't see it happening. Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for the saints, the organization has an upper hand right now in terms of the contract negotiations.

 

[jtampasaint]

Also bring in Lee Evans