Looking to give the wide receiver room a spark, the Buffalo Bills signed recently released WR Brandin Cooks on Tuesday to the 53 man roster.
Cooks comes to Buffalo after plenty of stops and production along the way including six 1,000 yard seasons with four different teams. He has proven to be a productive receiver over his career but has not seen 100 targets or 1,000 yards since 2021.
He will attempt to come in to give Josh Allen another option down the field and open up the passing game, though it’s not assumed that he is the missing piece. Along the way, Cooks has had plenty of injuries including multiple concussions.
Read below for a full injury history and analysis.
Injury History
2014 New Orleans Saints
Left thumb fracture, Week 11, missed 6 games.
Cooks suffered a left thumb fracture with several outlets reporting it as a wrist. He underwent surgery and missed the remainder of the season.
2015 Saints
Ankle injury, Week 2, missed 0 games.
Cooks was listed as probable for the next several games as he played through an ankle injury.
Concussion, Week 13, missed 0 games.
Cooks suffered his first concussion potentially in practice as he was listed in full that Wednesday before being downgraded the following day. Fortunately he didn’t miss any games.
2016 Saints
Undisclosed injury, training camp.
Cooks sat out of practice for several practices early in training camp with an undisclosed injury.
2017 New England Patriots
Concussion, Super Bowl.
Cooks suffered a concussion due to a hit from Malcolm Jenkins early in the second quarter and was forced to leave the game.
2018 Los Angeles Rams
Concussion, Week 5, missed 0 games.
Cooks was forced to exit the game against the Seattle Seahawks after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit from safety Tedric Thompson.
2019 Los Angeles Rams
Concussion, Week 5, missed 0 games.
Cooks suffered his fourth concussion against Seattle early in the fourth quarter and was forced to exit.
Concussion, Week 9, missed 2 games.
Cooks took a shot from Cincinnati Bengals safety Jesse Bates in the second quarter and was forced to leave the game, suffering his fifth concussion. After the game, he saw a concussion specialist in Pittsburgh, likely Dr. Michael Collins.
2020 Houston Texans
Quadriceps strain, training camp, missed 0 games.
Cooks worked through a quadriceps strain during the preseason and was questionable the first two weeks of the season.
Neck injury, Week 15, missed 1 game.
Cooks was questionable heading into the game and was a game-time decision before being ruled out.
2021 Texans
Illness, Week 13, missed 0 games.
Back injury, Week 13, missed 0 games.
COVID, Week. 16, missed 1 game
Knee injury, Week 18, missed 0 games.
Cooks injured his knee and was questionable in the fourth quarter of the final game of the season and did not return.
2022 Texans
Wrist injury, Week 7, missed 1 game.
Hip/wrist injury, Week 11, missed 0 games.
Cooks appeared on the injury report with both hip and wrist injuries ahead of Week 12.
Calf strain, Week 13, missed 3 games.
Cooks missed three games due to a calf strain against the Miami Dolphins.
2023 Dallas Cowboys
Knee MCL sprain, Week 1, missed 1 game.
Cooks suffered a mild MCL sprain in the season opener, missing one game.
2024 Cowboys
Right knee soreness, preseason.
Right Knee infection, Week 4, missed 6 games, went on IR.
Cooks stayed back in New York City to have his right knee scoped due to his lingering knee soreness. He unfortunately developed an infection which had him placed on injured reserve, missing six games.
Knee, Week 12, missed 0 games.
Cooks was initially questionable as he returned off injured reserve before he was activated.
2025 Saints
No publicly reported injuries.
Buffalo Bills Injury History
Over his 11 year career, Cooks has missed 21 games with over half of that being from his broken thumb his rookie year and knee infection last year. Many of his other injuries are rather benign, the general ankle, hip, knee, and occasional soft tissue injuries. Nothing really sticks out of this group other than the knee infection which does occasionally happen even with everything done properly.
The biggest concern but may not be as big of an issue is the concussions. Cooks has had five concussions in his career including back-to-back in 2019 that prompted a visit to a concussion specialist in Pittsburgh. It’s not clear what that visit entailed, but it’s important to note that he has not had any concussions since that visit in 2019. This should be a concern, but it really isn’t. The Bills have had plenty of experience managing multiple concussions including Taron Johnson and Mitch Morse, keeping both healthy throughout their careers here. Should he suffer another concussion, it’s noteworthy but not necessarily a major concern like it was previously when he had five in a four year window.
Knowing that Cooks is a free agent at the end of the year and he is here for the remainder of the season and playoffs, we’re talking a maximum of 10 games he will be a Buffalo Bill. Despite being several years removed from elite production and possibly on the back end of his career, this is still a solid signing. Ideally, he doesn’t get hurt immediately like Amari Cooper did last season. Let’s hope Cooks brings something different to the Bills roster to help start a deep run to the playoffs.
I would like to welcome Brandin Cooks to Buffalo and to remain healthy this season.
Top Photo Credit: Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images
Discover more from Banged Up Bills
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
