The Dolphins’ quarterback room took another strange turn Monday, and the move left plenty of fans wondering why Miami bothered.
After Sunday brought a cleaner answer behind Malik Willis, the team still added another arm when it claimed former Jets backup Brady Cook off waivers. That came on top of the earlier deal for Kyle McCord, which gave Miami a backup after Quinn Ewers had been struggling. Mark Gronowski was expected to return to the practice squad, leaving the Dolphins with an emergency third quarterback option.
Cook’s résumé in 2025 didn’t exactly jump off the page. He started four games for the Jets and lost all four, while throwing seven interceptions against just two touchdowns. Still, Miami’s front office clearly saw something worth betting on.
On Monday, GM Jon-Eric Sullivan laid out his reasoning.
"Brady's the ultimate competitor. Tough as nails, got a lot of swag, if you will.
Guys follow him." Sullivan said about his new QB.
"You watch what he did at Missouri, and his time there he elevated a program that maybe at the time wasn't the most talented, they played well and I think a lot of that had to do with him. And again, I think it upgraded our room."
The logic is easy enough to follow from a roster-management standpoint. Gronkowski wasn’t ready to move up to the 53 in an emergency role, so Miami wanted another quarterback on the active roster. But for fans who understand that carrying a third quarterback means one less spot elsewhere, the decision still feels clunky.
And given how Cook played last season, it’s not hard to see why the reaction has been skeptical. One message from Mike Luciano of The Jet Press summed up the mood around Cook’s time in New York, and the feeling wasn’t exactly admiration.
In Other News...
Drinkwitz Sends Mizzou An Early Warning Before Kansas
Missouris 54-14 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff looked comfortable on the scoreboard, but Eli Drinkwitz still came away with a mixed read on his teams performance. The coach said he was disappointed to miss out on meeting Sheryl Crow, then shifted quickly to the football itself, pointing to a second half that did not match the standard Missouri needs as it heads into a much bigger week.
Drinkwitz said the Tigers need to tighten up the details before Kansas arrives, and he did not soften the list of concerns. Penalties, a lack of pressure on the quarterback and a missed chance at a takeaway all stood out, along with the kind of intensity lapse that can linger if it is ignored. For Missouri, the opener was a reminder that a lopsided win still can leave plenty to fix. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzous New Era Just Raised The Pressure On Eli Drinkwitz
Missouri football has spent much of its modern history trying to outrun old problems, from coaching turnover to facilities that lagged behind the programs ambitions. That backdrop is what makes the current moment feel different. The Tigers now have a $250 million north end zone stadium project on the way, and they backed up the momentum with a dominant win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, a reminder that the program is trying to project both stability and ambition at the same time.
Eli Drinkwitz is right in the middle of it all. His tenure has already included a contract extension, which says plenty about how Missouri views the direction of the program, but it also comes with the natural downside of raised expectations. When a school starts investing like this, the conversation changes fast, and Drinkwitz now has to manage not just wins and losses, but the pressure that comes with a program finally acting like it expects more. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou's New Offense Just Created A Bigger Question For SEC Play
Missouris season opener at Faurot Field went about as cleanly as it could have in a 54-14 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, with the new-look offense looking comfortable from the start. Transfer quarterback Austin Simmons was efficient and sharp before the break, completing 17 of 19 passes for 252 yards and four touchdowns in the first half before sitting out the second half, while a defense that controlled the line of scrimmage kept Arkansas-Pine Bluff to limited yardage early and gave the Tigers plenty of short fields.
The production was spread around, too, with Donovan Olugbode and Jamal Roberts among the players who got in on the scoring. For Missouri, the opener offered an encouraging first look at how the offense might function, but it also left the more relevant question hanging over the rest of September: what happens when this version of the Tigers has to prove it against SEC defenses that wont yield nearly as easily? [Read more 🡒]