Rams news: Brandin Cooks signs five-year contract extension

The Los Angeles Rams made a lot of moves during this NFL offseason including trading for wide receiver Brandin Cooks. Now they've secured Cooks' long-term future with the team.

Coming off their most successful season in well over a decade, the Los Angeles Rams have been one of the league's most active teams in the league looking to build off that momentum. Among those moves was the trade to acquire star wide receiver Brandin Cooks from the New England Patriots.

In the months that have followed, there has been constant chatter that the team has some significant interest in working out a new long-term deal with Cooks this offseason. With that in mind, the Rams have announced via a press release that team has agreed to a five-year extension with the 24-year-old on Tuesday afternoon.

“Brandin Cooks has shown himself to be a class act on and off the field since the first day he joined our team,” Rams Head Coach Sean McVay said. “He’s a proven professional in this league and signing him to a long-term contract was always our goal. We’re excited to keep Brandin in a Rams uniform through 2023.”

This move now locks in a key piece to the offense for the long haul that should become a primary target in the passing game for Pro Bowl quarterback Jared Goff. Through his first four years in the league, Cooks has shown to be a game-changing talent behind his explosive speed that helps him stretch the field as a big-play threat. In his lone campaign with the Patriots last season, he displayed just that with 65 catches for 1,082 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

He is currently alongside Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro wideout Antonio Brown as the only players to have an active streak of three straight years with at least 1,000 receiving yards and seven touchdown receptions. He is also just the fourth player to accomplish that feat prior to the age of 25, joining the likes of Hall of Famer Randy Moss, the New York Giants’ Odell Beckham Jr., and John Jefferson.

With Cooks locked into a long-term deal, the focus for the Rams should now shift over to working out a lucrative extension for reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald, who is currently in the fifth-year option of his rookie contract.