Brady Cook (born October 12, 2001) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the "Fighting Tigers of Columbia" who, in 1864, protected Columbia ...

Early life

Cook attended Chaminade College Preparatory School in

Creve Coeur, Missouri Creve Coeur is a city located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, a part of Greater St. Louis. Its population was 18,834 at the 2020 census. Creve Coeur borders and shares a ZIP code (63141) with the neighboring city of Town and Co ...

. As a senior, Cook threw for 33 touchdowns and 3,194 yards. Cook was rated as a three-star recruit and the number one quarterback in Missouri and committed to play

at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

College career

In 2020, Cook redshirted and appeared in three games. Cook recorded 72 yards passing and one touchdown. Cook entered the

2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

as the backup to

Connor Bazelak Connor Bazelak (born September 22, 2000) is an American professional football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Missouri Tigers, Indiana Hoosiers, and Bowling Green ...

. After Bazelak struggled and eventually got injured, Cook received his first major playing time against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, in which Cook threw for 78 yards in a 43–6 loss. Cook made his first career start against

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

in the 2021 Armed Forces Bowl, in which Cook tallied 238 passing yards and a touchdown while rushing for 53 yards and a touchdown.

2022

Entering the 2022 season, Cook was named the starting quarterback. Cook led Missouri to a 2–2 start including a three touchdown performance against Abilene Christian. Cook then led Missouri to a 22–12 lead over No. 1 Georgia in the fourth quarter. Despite this, Georgia scored 14 unanswered points to win 26–22. Cook finished the game with 192 yards and a touchdown. Cook finished the season throwing for 2,739 yards, 14 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, while also rushing for 585 yards and six touchdowns, leading Missouri to the 2022 Gasparilla Bowl.

2023

Entering the 2023 season, Cook competed with Jake Garcia and Sam Horn for Missouri's starting quarterback job, with Cook eventually being named the starter. In week three against No. 15

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

, he threw for 356 yards and contributed three total touchdowns in a 30–27 upset victory. Against Vanderbilt, Cook threw for a then career-high, 395 yards and four touchdowns, in a 38–21 rout. During the game, he set an SEC record for most consecutive passes without an interception, overtaking the previous record from former Kentucky quarterback Andre' Woodson. Cook led Missouri to a 5–0 record before a matchup with No. 23

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, where he recorded a career-high 411 passing yards and threw for two touchdowns. Despite his efforts, LSU was victorious 49–39. The following week, Cook helped Missouri bounce back with a 38–21 victory over No. 24

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, contributing two total touchdowns. Against

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, he threw for 198 yards and totaled two touchdowns, leading Missouri to a 7–1 record, the team's best record through eight games since

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. During the 2023 regular season, Cook led Missouri to a 10–2 record and an appearance in the 2023 Cotton Bowl Classic, finishing the year with 20 passing touchdowns, 3,189 passing yards, and eight rushing touchdowns. In the Cotton Bowl Classic, Cook threw for 128 yards and a touchdown, leading Missouri to a 14–3 victory over

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

. As a result of his performance, he was named the game's offensive MVP. Following the game, he announced that he would return to Missouri the following season after finishing the 2023 season throwing for 3,317 yards, rushing for 319 yards, and totaling 29 total touchdowns.

2024

In the season opener against Murray State, Cook threw for 218 yards and totaled two touchdowns, one rushing and one passing, in a 51–0 rout. Against Auburn, he suffered an injury on the opening drive of the game and was taken to the hospital to have an

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and rad ...

exam on his ankle. Unexpected to return to the game, Cook came back into the game with Missouri trailing 17–6 near the end of the third quarter. He then led the Tigers to two touchdown drives, resulting in a 21–17 Missouri victory. Cook finished the game with 194 yards passing. The following week, he gained the start against No. 15

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, despite not being able to practice due to the ankle injury he sustained against Auburn. Cook exited the game after sustaining a wrist injury, finishing the game with 30 passing yards. Dealing with the wrist and ankle injuries, he was sidelined against

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, marking the end of 35 consecutive starts for Cook. Considered doubtful to play against No. 21 South Carolina, he returned as the starting quarterback after a one-game absence. In the 2024 Music City Bowl, Cook's final collegiate game, against

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, he completed 18 of 32 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 54 yards, leading Missouri to a 27–24 victory and being named the game's MVP.

Statistics

Professional career

Cook signed with the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on May 9, 2025.

Personal life

Cook is the son of Jim and Amy Cook, and he grew up a fan of the Missouri Tigers. Cook was named to the 2021 SEC Academic Honor Roll. In 2023, Cook was named the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year. He received the honor again in 2024, joining

Tim Tebow Timothy Richard Tebow (; born August 14, 1987) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons, primarily with the Denver Broncos. Tebow played college football for t ...

and Barrett Jones as the only players to win the award in back-to-back years.

References

External links

New York Jets bio

Missouri Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Brady 2001 births Living people Players of American football from St. Louis American football quarterbacks Chaminade College Preparatory School (Missouri) alumni Missouri Tigers football players New York Jets players