A myriad of injuries and overall struggles within the New York Jets’ quarterback room have prompted undrafted free agent Brady Cook to take over as the starting signal-caller during the past two weeks.
And while the former Missouri quarterback’s debut against Miami was less than encouraging, Cook got out to a hot start Sunday against Jacksonville.
Trailing 14-0 late in the first quarter, Cook and the Jets’ much-maligned offense mounted a scoring drive that resulted in the quarterback’s first-career touchdown pass. The rookie dropped back and fired a ball up the seam, and third-year receiver Adonai Mitchell rose up for the scoring snag.
The first touchdown of any player’s professional career deserves plenty of celebration, and Brady’s parents Amy and Jim filled that role while in attendance for their son’s second NFL start.
Cook started 9-for-12 on the afternoon, having thrown for 73 yards and a touchdown against the Jaguars. He has also carried the ball twice for 13 yards.
SEC fans likely remember Cook from his days at Missouri, where the St. Louis native eventually earned a starting spot at his home-state school and became a program legend from 2022-2024. The dual-threat quarterback accounted for 9,251 passing yards, 1,262 rushing yards and 71 total touchdowns during his career, all while leading the Tigers to back-to-back 10-win seasons in ’23 and ’24.
Parker is currently the sports editor for the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Mississippi. He's a graduate from Mizzou who has experience covering the Tiger football and basketball beats for SB Nation, and he's worked for a variety of sports news outlets in the past.
