LaCanfora: Teams Interested in Trading for Cook

[Prime Time]

Jim Thomas
✔@jthom1
Fisher also indicates team does not plan on trading Jared Cook; says team got calls on players besides Cook during bye week.

Isn't this what Fisher said before the Bradford trade?

 

[Rmfnlt]

I have zero belief in what Fish says. And don't get me wrong, not knocking him here, he's just completely full of bull when it comes to his players and I understand that as well as why he does that.

+1

 

[RamBill]

Tight end Jared Cook, Rams shrug off trade rumors
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...ht-end-jared-cook-rams-shrug-off-trade-rumors

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Without any football to discuss, the combination of a bye week and an approaching trade deadline stirred up the St. Louis Rams rumor mill over the weekend.

In this instance, Rams tight end Jared Cook was the perceived target as one report had the Rams shopping him and another had teams calling the Rams about him.

On Tuesday, Rams coach Jeff Fisher acknowledged that the Rams received calls about Cook but also insisted that Cook is not up for sale before the Nov. 3 trade deadline.

Jared Cook
Jared Cook has been the target of trade speculation over the past week.
"I have no interest in trading Jared," Fisher said. "He’s a big part of our offense. I don’t know where that originated from or came from. I clearly wasn’t aware of it. Jared’s fine. He’s a big part of this. Those kind of things happen. People call. He’s not the only person that people called us about last week. There’s injuries. We’re not to the trading deadline. People have interest in players. This day and age they’ve got more information. If they sense that some players that you have may fit their system, they’re going to call. You either say, 'yes' or 'no.'”

Whether anything progressed far enough for the Rams to offer a yes or no answer is unclear but what is clear is that just because Fisher says a player isn't available doesn't mean that's the case. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford should offer an easy reminder of that.

So while Fisher may publicly say that he doesn't want to trade Cook, that doesn't mean it wouldn't happen if the right offer comes along. That's actually the part that's more difficult to discern. Cook has two more years on his contract with a base salary of $7 million in 2016 and $7.1 million in 2017. The Rams would have to take an accelerated cap hit of nearly $2.7 million if they dealt Cook this year to cover the remaining portion of his prorated signing bonus.

Any team that dealt for Cook would not owe any guaranteed money but it's fair to assume they'd want to keep him longer than one season which would mean doing so at his current price tag or negotiating an extension. Complicating matters further from the Rams' perspective is a lack of options at tight end with Lance Kendricks recovering from finger surgery.

But a Cook trade could make sense if the Rams get the right offer if only because it seems unlikely that they'll retain both Cook on his current contract and re-sign pending unrestricted free agent Cory Harkey, who is a favorite of the coaching staff.

For his part, Cook said he didn't bat an eyelash when he was informed of the trade rumors over the weekend, nor did he get a call from the Rams or his agent on the subject.

"If there was something I needed to know, they would have told me," Cook said. "There’s a lot of people that put things out there that really isn’t credible a lot of the times, everywhere around the world. It’s your choice to pay attention to it, it’s your choice to take in what they are saying or it’s your choice to ignore it."

Cook clearly took the latter option over the bye week with more important things to worry about. Since signing the lucrative five-year contract that brought him to St. Louis in 2013, the Rams offense and his role in it has changed dramatically. Originally signed to be essentially an oversized slot receiver in a wide-open passing attack, Cook has re-adjusted to a scheme that now asks him to attach to the line and run block on a more regular basis.

The blocking is still a work in progress for Cook but he's quietly drawn plaudits from the coaching staff for his improvement in that area. His performance against Green Bay offered perhaps his best run blocking effort yet. For what it's worth, he earned a +1.6 run blocking grade from Pro Football Focus for his work against the Packers.

Despite the changing roles, Cook said he's not upset about what the Rams are asking him to do.

"You’re not about to go to your job and tell your boss this is what you want to do, this is how you have to do it," Cook said. "No, you are about to do what they ask you to do and what this team needs. I’m here for what this team needs. If they need me to run block right now, I’m happy to do that."

The Rams could also use a more consistent pass-catcher in addition to the run blocking. Pro Football Focus credits Cook with four drops on the season and he's also lost on some 50/50 balls that he could have hauled in. The drops have been more bothersome because of their timing, as most would have gone for a first down or a touchdown.

For the season, Cook has 15 catches for 169 yards, which ranks second on the team in both categories. Asked if he'd like to get the ball more or if getting him involved earlier would increase his production, Cook again made it clear he's not fretting about his role.

"It’s making me become a tight end overall which is improving my game so I have nothing to complain about," Cook said. "It’s different but that’s what my job entails. I’m not a very selfish person. I just come to work doing my job and doing what they ask me to. So if they ask me to block a little bit more, that’s what I’m here to do."

 

[Ballhawk]

The risk to reward ratio is too high when throwing to Cook. He either drops the ball, cuts off his route, or tips the ball up for grabs. Not good.

 

[A.J. Hicks]

I do not like Cook. I'm done with him dropping very catchable passes.

I do wonder how much his athleticism makes defenses pay attention.