Brandin Cooks Signs With The 49ers' Practice Squad
The San Francisco 49ers signed 32-year-old wide receiver Brandin Cooks to their practice squad Tuesday, his seventh NFL team in 13 seasons and a lifeline for a receiving corps that has been decimated by injuries before Week 3.
The carnage: Ricky Pearsall had season-ending knee surgery in August. Christian Kirk is on injured reserve. Rookie De'Zhaun Stribling had ankle surgery and could miss ten weeks. Demarcus Robinson sprained his ankle in Week 2 and a second IR placement may follow. Mike Evans is dealing with a hip issue Kyle Shanahan said "will have to be managed this week."
That is five receivers down or limited heading into a Week 3 road game at Arizona against the Cardinals.
Cooks will initially use the practice squad to get up to speed, the 49ers are not expecting him Week 3, but he is expected to be elevated to the 53-man roster soon. He is 189 yards from 10,000 career receiving yards, which would make him only the 16th player in NFL history to reach that threshold. He had 24 catches for 279 yards last season split between New Orleans and Buffalo.
The 49ers are 2-0 after blowout wins over the Rams in Melbourne and the Dolphins in Week 2. They cannot afford to let the injury situation erode what has been a dominant start.
