Rams sign receiver Brandin Cooks to $80-million extension - Los Angeles Times
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Rams sign receiver Brandin Cooks to $80-million extension

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It has been a good month for Rams receiver Brandin Cooks.

He got married less than two weeks ago and Tuesday he signed a five-year contract extension. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but the extension is worth $80 million, a person with knowledge of the situation said.

“It’s been an amazing month, and a blessing,” Cooks said during a teleconference with reporters.

Cooks, 24, was acquired in April in a trade with the New England Patriots. The former first-round draft pick by the New Orleans Saints has more than 1,000 yards receiving in three of his four NFL seasons.

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Cooks has scored 28 touchdowns, including seven last season.

“Brandin Cooks has shown himself to be a class act on and off the field since the first day he joined our team,” coach Sean McVay said in a statement. “He’s a proven professional in this league and signing him to a long-term contract was always our goal. We’re excited to keep Brandin in a Rams uniform through 2023.”

Cooks is beginning the fifth and final year of his contract. He carries a salary-cap number of about $8.5 million.

Cooks is expected to start alongside receivers Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp for a Rams team that has generated Super Bowl buzz after acquiring Cooks, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib.

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From the day they traded for him, the Rams had spoken about trying to work out an extension with Cooks, who is expected to provide a deep threat for quarterback Jared Goff. Cooks had said his contract situation would take care of itself.

On Tuesday, Cooks said he began to feel comfortable with the Rams “as soon as I stepped into the building” in Thousand Oaks in April.

“What they had going on, even before I got here, you saw something special going on with this team and the coach,” he said, adding: “It’s a young culture that’s very energetic.”

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The signing of Cooks came a day after the deadline for the Rams to work out a long-term deal with safety Lamarcus Joyner, who will receive about $11.3 million playing this season under the franchise tag.

The Rams and defensive tackle Aaron Donald still have not come to terms on a new deal. The reigning NFL defensive player of the year, who is due to earn $6.9 million in the final year of his deal and seeking an extension that would put him among the NFL’s highest-paid players, is not expected to report when the Rams begin training camp July 26 at UC Irvine.

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Twitter: @latimesklein

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