FOXBORO, Mass. — With a new team comes a new number for New England Patriots offseason addition Brandin Cooks.
The wide receiver, who wore No. 10 with the New Orleans Saints, picked jersey No. 14 with the Patriots. There wasn’t a lot of thought that went into the decision.
“No big significance at all, really,” Cooks said Tuesday at Gillette Stadium. “I was seven in college, so the way that I like to think about it is double seven. But yeah, no big significance.”
Backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo wears No. 10 with the Patriots and has donned the digits since he was selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Garoppolo wore No. 1o in college, too, so it might have been tough to pry it away from him.
“No, I didn’t even try,” Cooks said. “I didn’t think about asking him. New journey, new opportunity, so I kind of wanted something different.”
No. 14 is an unusual number for a wide receiver, though Michael Floyd wore it for the Patriots in 2016. The Miami Dolphins’ Jarvis Landry and the Buffalo Bills’ Sammy Watkins are the best wideouts to currently wear the number. Quarterback Steve Grogan is the best player in Patriots history to wear No. 14.
The Patriots acquired Cooks along with a fourth-round pick from the Saints for a first-round selection and a third-rounder.
Thumbnail photo via Kelley L Cox/USA TODAY Sports Images
