NEW ORLEANS -- The Saints have released veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks, the team announced Wednesday.
He will become a free agent if he goes unclaimed on waivers.
The Saints signed wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. off their practice squad in a corresponding move.
Cooks, 32, signed a two-year deal worth up to $13 million to return to the Saints in March but was not a major factor in the offense, finishing fifth on the team in receptions in the first half of the season.
"He asked to be released and obviously it took a few days just to kind of go through that process just to make sure it worked for both parties and so his contract was kind of adjusted just to make it something that benefited both parties. He was awesome about it," coach Kellen Moore said Wednesday.
"Obviously, this is a personal thing and he's, he's been great for us ... the way he's handled himself, the way he's helped our team and so those are challenging things, but I appreciate everything he's done for us and so I feel like it's in the best interest of the team moving forward," Moore added.
Cooks had incentives in his contract for receptions, receiving touchdowns, playing time and receiving yards but did not reach any of them. He finished with 19 catches for 165 yards and no touchdowns.
The Saints drafted Cooks in the first round of the 2014 draft but traded him to the New England Patriots in the 2017 offseason. He has 729 receptions for 9,697 yards and 60 touchdowns in 12 seasons.
Cooks is the second Saints wide receiver to leave the team this season, as the team moved Rashid Shaheed to the Seattle Seahawks at the trade deadline.
