Jets QB Brady Cook will start for second straight week vs. Saints

Brady Cook will be at center again this week.

Jets head coach Aaron Glenn announced Tuesday that Cook would start for a second straight game, this time against the Saints.

Glenn also said he will see how Tyrod Taylor (groin) and Justin Fields (knee soreness) both progress this week to see who will support Cook.

“He came into the game when Tyrod was injured and we were down 21, it wasn’t a good situation,” Glenn said of Cook’s arrival against the Dolphins in Week 14. “And then going back to another game with a 21 deficit, I want to see him in a situation where our defense, our offense and our special teams complement each other to see how he’s going to operate there.

“I think he deserves an opportunity to do that.”

On Monday, Glenn told reporters he would evaluate the quarterback position before naming a starter. When asked if Cook would start in the remaining three games, Glenn said he was just “worried about New Orleans.”

Cook, 24, an undrafted rookie free agent out of Missouri, made his first start in the 48-20 loss to the Jaguars. He completed 22 of 33 passes for 176 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Cook was the first undrafted rookie quarterback to start for the Jets since Bill Demory in 1973.

The Jets brought Cook in for a top-30 visit before the draft. This was the only team Cook interviewed during the pre-draft process. He ultimately signed with the Jets in May after the draft, but Cook said he had interest from a few teams.

“The Jets were the only team I visited, so I had a relationship with their staff,” he said. “I kind of knew what their vision was and where they saw me in the picture and it was a pretty easy decision.”

Although the final stat line doesn’t indicate it, Cook had some positive aspects to his game that the Jets could build on. He started Sunday’s game 6-for-6 and led the Jets to a touchdown on their second possession. However, Cook will of course eliminate mistakes, including a fourth-quarter red zone interception in the end zone.

“There’s definitely a lot to clean up, as there always is in a football game,” Cook said. “There are good things, there are things to clean up and there is a lot of work to do this week.

“Number one for me is ball security. I don’t want to make turning the ball over a habit for me. It’s not something that was part of my game in the past and it’s something I want to clean up this week.”

The Jets quarterback situation has been a carousel over the past month. After starting nine games and having the worst passing attack in the NFL, Fields was benched for Taylor before the Jets’ Week 12 loss to the Ravens.

Taylor started the next three games before injuring his groin in the first quarter of the Jets’ 34–10 loss to the Dolphins. Cook then entered the game, but the Jets were already down 21-0 with little hope of a comeback. He completed 14 of 30 passes for 163 yards and two interceptions against the Dolphins. It didn’t help that the receivers had five drops either.

At 3-11 and eliminated from the playoffs, it’s evaluation time for the Jets. They will likely have a new quarterback next year following Fields’ poor season after the two sides agreed to a two-year, $40 million contract in March.

Taylor has been injury prone throughout his career, including this year, having suffered both a knee injury in preseason and now a groin injury. The Jets have very little to lose to see what they have in Cook in games against the Saints, Patriots and Bills.

“I’m approaching it as another opportunity,” Cook said. “That’s it. It’s an opportunity for me to lead this team one more time and try to win on the road. It’s really that simple. It’s about this week, I prepare this week and I play Sunday in New Orleans. That’s how I look at it.”

Tight end Mason Taylor (neck), safety Tony Adams (groin), defensive end Eric Watts (concussion) and linebacker Kiko Mauigoa (neck) will not play against the Saints, Glenn said.