Today the Saints cut tight ends Jared Cook and Josh Hill, making a small dent in their considerable salary cap problem. (They’re still over $60 million in the red). In Cook’s case it was a procedural move as he was set to become a free agent in a couple weeks, anyway.
The Panthers could use some more firepower at this position. We’ve already looked at a couple of younger options like Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith. If they’re interested in a more experienced tight end it won’t get any better than Cook. Here’s why it might work.
Pros
Only a handful of tight ends around the NFL have been more productive the last several years than Cook. Since 2018, Pro Football Focus has him graded out as the sixth-best player at the position. That year with the Raiders he had a rare late-career breakout season, totaling 896 yards and six scores. After joining New Orleans in 2019, Cook posted another 80 catches, 1,209 yards and 16 touchdowns. Cook is also the only free agent tight end who would bring familiarity with the offensive scheme Joe Brady is running in Carolina. At this point in his career, signing him likely wouldn’t cost too much, either.
Cons
The obvious downside with Cook is his age. He will turn 34 years old next month and has been in the league since 2009, when the Titans drafted him in the third round. Since then he’s appeared in 178 regular season games. That’s a lot of mileage for any athlete, especially one with Cook’s size (6-foot-5, 254 pounds). Even if he’s a huge upgrade over Ian Thomas and Chris Manhertz as a receiver, he’s not really a long-term answer to this question.
Conclusion
Cook has always been the one veteran tight end we thought made the most sense for the Panthers to sign this year. Obviously, acquiring a guy like Henry or Smith would help more, but they can’t really afford to splurge at this spot given all their other roster needs. Assuming that his asking price is reasonable enough, Cook should fit like a glove.
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