Brandin Cooks is joining the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad, ESPN reported Tuesday.
Cooks, who was unsigned after spending last season with the New Orleans Saints and Buffalo Bills, figures to help a 49ers team ravaged by injuries at wide receiver.
Ricky Pearsall won’t play this season after undergoing surgery on the PCL in his right knee. The 49ers placed De’Zhaun Stribling (ankle) on injured reserve after he was injured in Week 1, and Mike Evans and Demarcus Robinson left their Week 2 win over Miami with injuries.
While Evans’ hip injury is considered less serious — coach Kyle Shanahan said he’ll “have to be managed this week” – Robinson’s high ankle sprain has a recovery timeline of three to six weeks.
Cooks will need to get up to speed before appearing in a game for San Francisco, thus the initial practice squad designation.
Cooks, 32, will begin his 13th NFL season with his seventh team. He appeared in 15 games last season for New Orleans and Buffalo, catching 24 passes for 279 yards. In the divisional round of the playoffs, he was at the center of a controversial late-game call in which he appeared to make a catch before Denver Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian wrestled the ball away from him. The play was ruled an interception.
A first-round pick by the Saints in 2014, Cooks has also suited up for the New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams, Houston Texans, and Dallas Cowboys. He has 734 career receptions for 9,811 yards and 60 touchdowns.