If I'm Cooks, and I am as "self confident" as he is, and as durable as he has been in the past, I'm banking on FA.
I get the whole long term safety net that comes with a new deal. But he doesn't miss games and practices, so why not get to FA and be a really big fish in a small pond?
La, you said it yourself, he won't get as much from the Rams now then he would in week one of free agency, otherwise known as outrageous contract season.
If I'm Cooks I'll be 25, and any deal i get is going to be 4 to 5 years meaning this is my one real chance at a payday, and I'm going to maximize it. I've already played on 3 teams so whats the difference if I go to a forth? And fear of the tag? Not with the Rams, they can't sign Donald, Joyner or Watkins, so they don't have enough tags for everyone.
Don't waste your time looking back, you're not going that way. - Ragnar Lothbrok