Brady Cook will be under center again this week.
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn announced on Tuesday that Cook will start for the 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 back up Cook.
“Him coming into the game when Tyrod got hurt and we were down 21, that wasn’t a good situation to be in,” Glenn said about Cook coming in against the Dolphins in Week 14. “And then come back to another game being down 21, I want to see him in a situation where our defense, offense, and special teams complement each other to see how he’s going to operate there.
“I think he deserves an opportunity to do it.”
On Monday, Glenn told reporters that he would evaluate the quarterback position before naming a starter. When asked if Cook would start in the remaining three games, Glenn said he is 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 a touchdown and three interceptions. Cook was the first undrafted rookie quarterback to start for the Jets since Bill Demory in 1973.
Although the final stat line wouldn’t indicate it, Cook had some positive aspects of his game that the Jets could build on. He began Sunday’s game 6-for-6 and led the Jets to a touchdown on their second possession. However, Cook will, of course, eliminate the mistakes, including a fourth-quarter red zone interception in the end zone.
The Jets quarterback situation has been a carousel for the last month. After starting nine games and having the worst passing offense in the NFL, Fields was benched for Taylor before the Jets’ Week 12 loss to the Ravens.
Taylor started the following 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 also didn’t help that receivers had five drops.
At 3-11 and eliminated from postseason contention, it is evaluation time for the Jets. They will likely have a new quarterback in 2026 after Fields’ down year following his two-year, $40 million contract signed in March.
Taylor has been injury-prone throughout his career, including this year, after dealing with both a preseason knee injury and now a groin injury. The Jets have very little to lose to see what they have in Cook can do in games against the Saints, Patriots, and Bills.
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 announced.
