Rams notebook: WR Cooks catches big pay raise

IRVINE, Calif. -- Wide receiver Brandin Cooks, acquired by the Rams in an offseason trade, signed a five-year extension that will pay him a reported $88 million over the next six years. The soon-to-be 25-year-old Cooks is coming off three straight seasons in which he's amassed more than 1,000 yards receiving and is expected to make a seamless transition to the Rams alongside Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp as a deep-ball threat for Jared Goff. Cooks felt an immediate connection to the Rams upon reporting to offseason workouts after the trade to Los Angeles from New England. "I just knew this was a place that I want to be for a really long time," Cooks said. "As far as the years and all of that, I just let them handle that, my agent handle that and I just knowing I wanted to be here for a really long time. They took care of that in the way they thought was best and we agreed with it." Cooks believes he can bring veteran leadership to an already close-knit and mature locker room. "Leadership comes in so many different aspects," he said. "I would like to believe that I came in with a leadership example and working hard. Showing that you can come from anywhere but as long as you come together as one. I think they do such a good job of it already, the motto 'We not me.' It was very easy to come in with my personality and make that fit, and to show others as well that it's not about me, it's about the team." --Guard Jamon Brown will miss the first two games of the regular season after violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. Brown will sit out games against the Oakland Raiders and Arizona Cardinals as a result. Brown enjoyed a breakout year last year at right guard, and his loss is not insignificant even for just two games. Especially for a team that kept its starting offensive line intact the first 15 games of last season before resting most of their starters in the season finale. The Rams will use training camp to figure out a short-term replacement, with Austin Blythe a strong candidate. --Safety Lamarcus Joyner and the Rams were not able to come to terms with a new long-term extension before the July 16 deadline to do so, and will play the 2018 season under the franchise tag distinction.