During the Jets final preseason game in August, Brady Cook and Adrian Martinez were the team’s two quarterbacks.
Almost four months later, that will be the case again in Gang Green’s Week 15 game at Jacksonville on Sunday.
With both starter Tyrod Taylor (groin) and backup Justin Fields (knee soreness) out this week due to injury, Jets coach Aaron Glenn announced that Cook would start against the Jaguars. Martinez, who was signed to the practice squad on Wednesday, will be Cook’s backup.
This will mark Cook’s first NFL start following his debut during last Sunday’s 34-10 loss to the Dolphins after Taylor injured his groin during the first quarter.
“This week, he has had a chance to get all the reps with the ones,” Glenn said about Cook. “He has had a chance to communicate with the O-Line, with the receivers, with the tight ends, with the coaching staff and know exactly how we want to play this game.
“I have all the confidence in the world [in Cook]. That’s something I’ve stated from the beginning. He’ll be a good player in this league and he’ll have his opportunity again this week.”
The Jets signed Cook, 24, as an undrafted free agent out of Missouri in May following the 2025 NFL Draft. He will be the 55th player to start for the Jets in franchise history and the first undrafted rookie since J.J. Jones in 1975. Cook competed with and beat out Martinez for the practice squad spot during the preseason, thanks to his athleticism and overall upside.
Both Taylor and Fields missed practice this week, and Cook was able to receive all the first-team snaps, which should help him feel better prepared compared to last week when he was thrown into the fire with the Jets already trailing 21-0 in the opening quarter.
“I’ve been nervous before any football game I’ve ever played,” Cook said. “I’m excited. It’s important. This is everything I’ve ever done.
“There’s a level of importance there that it’s going to create nerves, but whenever I drag out onto the field and take that first snap, it’s gone, it’s not there, you’re focused, because you have no other choice. You really don’t.”
The Jets have had a quarterback conundrum the entire season. They signed Fields, 26, to a two-year, $40 million contract last March, hoping he could be their long-term solution at quarterback. But they benched him following nine starts in which the Jets had the worst passing offense in the NFL.
Taylor, 36, replaced Fields under center, but the Jets have only been able to manage just one win in his four starts. He has also had his issues with various injuries throughout his career.
In addition to Taylor and Fields being out this week against Jacksonville, tight end Mason Taylor (neck), cornerback Azareye’h Thomas (shoulder), and linebacker Kiko Mauigoa (knee) will also not play.
