In his first meeting with the media as a member of the New England Patriots, Brandin Cooks said that he didn't ask the New Orleans Saints to trade him.

"I didn't," Cooks told reporters. "It was a long process. So if we can set this straight, I think a lot of that and what was going on got taken out of context and a little exaggerated, and throughout the process I felt like I had to take the blows and keep my mouth shut, which is fine. It just happened to be a great opportunity for both sides. To be able to build what they want to build and to be sent off to a good team for me I think is a win-win situation. Like I said, the rumors out there and what's been going on and what's been told, I don't let it bother me. I'm just here to play football and that's what it's all about."

The most persistent rumor had Cooks' agent engineering a trade by making the player's discontent known during the 2016 season and by working directly with one or more other teams to lay the foundation for a deal to be done.