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Patriots pick up fifth-year option for Brandin Cooks, reports say

Brandin Cooks is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in New Orleans.Norm Hall/Getty Images

The Patriots on Saturday triggered the fifth-year option for receiver Brandin Cooks, according to reports.

Considering they gave up a first-round pick for Cooks in a trade with the Saints, the decision was a no-brainer for the Patriots.

The move comes ahead of an important week for first-round picks from the 2014 draft class, as the deadline for teams to exercise the fifth-year option on their contracts is Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Like the franchise tag, the fifth-year option comes with an automatic salary for each player based on his position. Unlike the franchise tag, which is fully guaranteed when it is placed on a player, fifth-year options are guaranteed for injury only for now and don’t become fully guaranteed until the first day of the 2018 league year the following March. So only players that are true busts don’t get their option picked up. Last year, 17 players had their options picked up or received contract extensions, and in 2014 it was 20 players.

Where a player is drafted also makes a big difference, as players picked in the top 10 receive a much higher salary than those picked 11-32 (based on different formulas that calculate the salaries). Had Cooks been drafted in the top 10, he’d be looking at a salary of $13.258 million in 2018, per former agent and salary cap expert Joel Corry. But since Cooks was picked 20th, his salary instead will be a much more reasonable $8.459 million.

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As of Saturday afternoon, 16 of the 32 players from 2014 were known to have their options picked up already, either via reports or team announcements. The players: Cooks, Jadeveon Clowney, Khalil Mack, Jake Matthews, Darqueze Dennard, Mike Evans, CJ Mosley, Taylor Lewan, Odell Beckham, Aaron Donald, Ryan Shazier, Zack Martin, Jason Verrett, Deone Bucannon, Travis Benjamin, and Bradley Roby.

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Only three players cannot have their options picked up, because they already have been released by their original teams: Justin Gilmore, Johnny Manziel, and Dominique Easley.

Six more players appear likely to have their options picked up: Anthony Barr, Calvin Prior, Ju’Waun James, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Dee Ford, and Jimmy Ward. We identify four players who likely won’t (Greg Robinson, Kyle Fuller, Sammy Watkins, and Marcus Smith), and three players on the bubble (Blake Bortles, Eric Ebron, and Teddy Bridgewater).


Follow Ben Volin on Twitter @BenVolin.