On Tuesday, the San Francisco 49ers answered their wide receiver questions by signing veteran Brandin Cooks to the practice squad. He will presumably spend some time getting back into football shape before officially joining the 53-man roster.
The move is a response to wideout Demarcus Robinson's high ankle sprain he suffered Sunday against the Dolphins. Given the growing list of hampered pass catchers, a signing was all but inevitable. Cooks joins the team with a clear role already carved out for him, but he may no longer have what it takes to fill the void.
Cooks will presumably serve as a complementary piece to current healthy receivers Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel, both of whom are much more effective in short-yardage situations at this stage of their careers.
49ers have clear big-play deficiency without De'Zhaun Stribling and Demarcus Robinson
Add running back Christian McCaffrey and tight end George Kittle into the mix, and things could get extremely crowded around the line of scrimmage.
Enter Brandin Cooks.
San Francisco has lost both of their field stretchers in Robinson and De'Zhaun Stribling in the first two weeks of the season. Stribling proved to be highly effective in the preseason before going down early in the first half in Australia, and Robinson caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brock Purdy in the same game.
Brandin Cooks may not be able vacancy left by 49ers' speedsters
With the homerun threat currently gone for the 49ers offense, they have apparently turned to free agent Brandin Cooks for answers. The veteran was a burner early in his career, but the last time he averaged more than 12.3 yards per catch was back in 2020.
Since 2022, he has failed to eclipse 700 yards on any of the four teams he has played for.
As the go-route guy, Cooks wouldn't be asked to carry a heavy load, but he would be asked to space the field out by torching opposing secondaries. Now age 32, it is highly unlikely he will scare many cornerbacks into guarding against the deep ball.
While the 49ers have a clear role in mind for the NFL journeyman, it is anybody's guess as to whether he is up for the task. 49ers fans can only hope he can answer the call, as Purdy looks to be on his way to a career year. If the signal caller doesn't have a legitimate deep threat present, he may not be able to sustain his efficiency, namely with underneath throws, as teams won't have to respect his big-play ability if there is no one reliable enough on the receiving end.
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