NFL Trade Machine: Jared Cook Landing Spots

Sep 20, 2015; Landover, MD, USA; St. Louis Rams tight end Jared Cook (89) runs with the ball as Washington Redskins defensive end Stephen Paea (90) chases in the first quarter at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

It seems the St. Louis Rams are looking to change up their roster a bit, and one of the top pieces on the agenda is what to do about tight end Jared Cook. So far in 2015, the 28-year old has just 15 catches for 169 yards. Worse still, the team is growing tired of his inability to fully utilize his advantages in size to create scoring opportunities.

"“Since joining the Rams Cook has routinely been the most heavily targeted Rams “weapon”. He also has more drops than any Rams player during that span. In 37 games as the Rams top target he has managed just 1474 yards, only good for 39.83 yards a game, and only one 100 yard game. This a player making $7 million a year, good for top 5 tightend money.Even worse, Cook was believed to be a legit red zone threat at 6’5″ 250 lbs and legit hops. But through 37 games as a Ram, he only has eight touchdowns. This could be an NFL record for how long a player who leads the team in targets yearly takes to eclipse 10 touchdowns.”"

It’s not a hard sell with a trade idea. Cook is still in his prime and has a lot of talent that might be better exploited by a different quarterback and offensive scheme. His contract is expensive ($8.3 million cap hit) but the potential trade off could be big if they can get him motivated. It’s just a matter of finding the right fit.

A couple of teams to watch?

New York Giants

The recent tragedy to befall Daniel Fells has created some depth concerns at tight end even though Larry Donnell has continued to play well. Adding Cook, expensive as he may be would really help the team and give him a quarterback in Eli Manning who loves to use tight ends.

Atlanta Falcons

Another quarterback match that makes perfect sense is Matt Ryan with the Atlanta Falcons. He’s been searching for an explosive option at that position ever since Tony Gonzalez left. Cook might find that system far more welcoming to his talents than the run-first one he finds himself in.

Next: Latest Johnny Manziel Incident Could Push Browns To Draft QB

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