Saints GM: Tight end Cook agrees to free-agent contract

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saints general manager Mickey Loomis says 2018 Pro Bowl tight end Jared Cook has agreed to the terms of a free-agent contract with New Orleans.

The 6-foot-5, 254-pound Cook is a 10-year veteran coming off his best season yet. He caught 68 passes for 896 yards and six touchdowns with Oakland last season and was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time.

Tight ends accounted for relatively modest production in the Saints’ eighth-ranked offense last season. Three tight ends — Ben Watson, Josh Hill and Dan Arnold — combined for 63 catches for 735 yards and four touchdowns. And Watson, who led the position group with 35 catches for 400 yards and two TDs, has retired.

Cook, who turns 32 next month, was a third-round draft choice out of South Carolina in 2009 and was acquired by Tennessee on a draft-day trade with New England.

He spent his first four seasons in Tennessee, where in 2011 he had 49 catches for 759 yards and three touchdowns.

Cook later spent three seasons with the St. Louis Rams and one season with Green Bay before joining Oakland two seasons ago. For his career, Cook has 425 catches for 5,464 yards and 25 touchdowns.