The San Francisco 49ers added veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks to the active roster Thursday, elevating him from the practice squad as the team continues to manage a wave of injuries at the position.
The corresponding move was the release of wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge. The 49ers also signed wide receiver Malik Turner to the practice squad.
Cooks joined the practice squad on Sept. 23 and has not appeared in a game this season. The promotion comes ahead of the 49ers’ Week 4 matchup.
Injuries have thinned the receiving corps. Demarcus Robinson (high ankle), De’Zhaun Stribling (ankle/deltoid), Christian Kirk (calf) and Ricky Pearsall (knee) are on injured reserve. Pearsall’s placement is season-ending.
Mike Evans remains day-to-day after sustaining a rib injury in Week 3. Evans had already been dealing with a hip issue earlier in the season.
Hodge appeared in three games and recorded one catch for 18 yards. He was dealing with a knee injury and missed practices on Wednesday and Thursday.
Cooks, a first-round selection of the New Orleans Saints in 2014, has spent time with multiple clubs. His stops include the Saints in 2014-16 and again in 2025, the New England Patriots in 2017, the Los Angeles Rams in 2018-19, the Houston Texans in 2020-22, the Dallas Cowboys in 2023-24 and the Buffalo Bills in 2025.
Through those seasons he has appeared in 173 games with 149 starts. He has 734 receptions for 9,811 yards and 60 touchdowns. He has also rushed 58 times for 341 yards and two scores.
In the postseason he has played in nine games with eight starts, catching 40 passes for 572 yards. Last season, split between the Saints and Bills, he caught 24 passes for 279 yards.
A native of Stockton, California, Cooks played at Oregon State. In three college seasons he totaled 226 receptions for 3,272 yards and 24 touchdowns, along with 61 carries for 340 yards and two scores. He stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 189 pounds.
Turner entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Seattle Seahawks in 2018. He has also played for the Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders, Texans, Indianapolis Colts and previously with the 49ers.
He has appeared in 47 games with three starts, recording 29 receptions for 414 yards and four touchdowns.
The 49ers’ healthy wide receivers now include Cooks along with options such as Deebo Samuel, Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins. Practice squad elevations remain available if additional depth is required.
Cooks has posted six 1,000-yard receiving seasons in his career, the most recent coming in 2021 with the Texans. He has not reached that mark since.
The roster adjustment gives San Francisco another experienced option while several projected contributors recover. Cooks has yet to log a snap in 2026 but brings a lengthy track record of production across multiple offenses.
