The Saints won the Jared Cook pursuit, with the Patriots being their top challenger. Jon Gruden said in January the Raiders would be in on this bid to bring Cook back, but they look to have bowed out early.
Cook never received an offer from the Raiders, Vic Tafur of The Athletic notes (subscription required), and the team stopped returning calls from the tight end’s agent.
After trading Amari Cooper, the Raiders relied heavily on Cook last season. He finished with 896 receiving yards, far and away a career-high total and the most a non-Todd Christensen Raiders tight end has ever recorded. Cook, 32 next week, now joins the Saints, who needed some help to provide a supporting cast for Michael Thomas.
Gruden on Tuesday called it “sickening” the Raiders could not keep Cook, but Tafur indicates they were not all that serious about doing so. He had also indicated in November a desire to retain the well-traveled tight end. Cook signed for two years and $15.5MM (with $8MM fully guaranteed). The Raiders landed Cook for barely $5MM per year in 2017.
The Raiders will give Darren Waller a chance to succeed Cook, per Gruden. He of multiple suspensions, Waller caught six passes for 75 yards with the Raiders last season. It appears likely the Raiders, who also have Derek Carrier on their roster, will draft a tight end.
Hes old.
its not easy to run on a flat tire