The contract controversy that has become a very hot topic in league circles, but that has been largely ignored by the media, took the next step on Saturday.

The Saints officially submitted a waivers request for veteran receiver Brandin Cooks.

The move comes after two different revisions to Cooks’s contract. The first pushed a full guarantee for 2026 from $1.69 million to $5.94 million, in an apparent effort to deter teams from making a waivers claim for Cooks. If no one claims his contract, Cooks becomes a free agent and can sign with any team.

In exchange for the team’s agreement to waive Cooks, he relinquished his right to receive the balance of his 2025 salary as termination pay — a no-offset amount of $420,000 for the final six weeks of the regular season. His revised (and re-re

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