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| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | (1993-01-29)January 29, 1993 (age 32) Parma Heights, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Michigan State (2011–2015) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2016: 4th round, 100th pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Connor Cook (born January 29, 1993) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aquarterback in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theMichigan State Spartans and was their starting quarterback from 2013 to 2015. He holds the record for most career wins at Michigan State. Cook was selected in the fourth round of the2016 NFL draft by theOakland Raiders.
After initially serving as the third-string backup toDerek Carr andMatt McGloin, Cook played in his first NFL game in the Raiders' last regular season game of the 2016 NFL season after Carr and McGloin suffered injuries. Following this, he was named the starter for the Raiders' playoff game against theHouston Texans and became the first quarterback in NFL post-merger history to make his first (and only) career start in a playoff game.
Cook was born inParma Heights, Ohio, on January 29, 1993. Cook is from an athletic family: His father, Chris, played football at Indiana; his mother, Donna, played basketball at Cincinnati; and his older sister, Jackie, played basketball at Old Dominion.[1] Cook attendedWalsh Jesuit High School inCuyahoga Falls, Ohio. He was ranked as the nation's 13th bestquarterback recruit byRivals.com.[2]
Upon enrolling at Michigan State, Cook wasredshirted as a freshman in 2011. He spent the 2012 season as a backup toAndrew Maxwell.[3] After Maxwell was benched, Cook helped lead the team to a win in the2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, completing four of 11 passes for 47 yards and atouchdown.[4] Overall, he appeared in three games, completing nine of 17 passes for 94 yards with a touchdown and aninterception. He entered the 2013 season as the backup to Maxwell again. After Maxwell struggled, Cook took over as the starter after the first game and remained the starter the rest of the year.[5] He led Michigan State to a 34–24 victory over theOhio State Buckeyes in theBig Ten Championship Game and was named MVP after throwing for 304 yards with three touchdowns.[6][7] He then led the Spartans to a 24–20 victory overStanford in the2014 Rose Bowl. He was named the offensive MVP after throwing for 332 yards and two touchdowns.[8] Cook finished the season with 2,755 passing yards and 22 touchdowns.
As a junior in 2014, Cook passed 3,214 yards with 24 touchdowns. He led the Spartans to the2015 Cotton Bowl, where they defeated the higher-rankedBaylor Bears, 42–41.[9] As a senior in 2015 Cook led the Spartans to a 16–13 win over theIowa Hawkeyes in theBig Ten Championship Game and was named MVP for the second time in three years.
The victory in that Big Ten Championship Game earned them a spot in theCollege Football Playoff (2015 Cotton Bowl), where they lost to theAlabama Crimson Tide, 38–0. Cook finished the season with 3,131 passing yards and 24 touchdowns, completing 56% of his passes. He won the 2015Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the nation's outstanding senior or fourth year quarterback. For his career, he completed 673 of 1,170 passes for a school record 9,194 yards with 71 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.
| Michigan State Spartans | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2012 | 3 | 0 | 0−0 | 9 | 17 | 52.9 | 94 | 5.5 | 1 | 1 | 107.0 | 4 | −3 | −0.8 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 14 | 13 | 12−1 | 223 | 380 | 58.7 | 2,755 | 7.3 | 22 | 6 | 135.5 | 69 | 76 | 1.1 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 13 | 13 | 11−2 | 212 | 365 | 58.1 | 3,214 | 8.8 | 24 | 8 | 149.4 | 51 | 80 | 1.5 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 13 | 13 | 11−2 | 229 | 408 | 56.1 | 3,131 | 7.7 | 24 | 7 | 136.6 | 52 | 56 | 1.1 | 0 | |
| Totals[10] | 43 | 39 | 34−5 | 673 | 1,170 | 57.5 | 9,194 | 7.9 | 71 | 22 | 139.8 | 176 | 209 | 1.2 | 3 | |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Wonderlic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 217 lb (98 kg) | 33 in (0.84 m) | 9+3⁄4 in (0.25 m) | 4.79 s | 1.68 s | 2.79 s | 4.28 s | 7.21 s | 33 in (0.84 m) | 9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) | 25[11] | |
| All values fromNFL Combine[12][13] | ||||||||||||
Cook was drafted by theOakland Raiders in the fourth round with the 100th pick in the2016 NFL draft.[14] He was the seventh quarterback chosen in the draft.[15] On May 9, 2016, the Raiders signed Cook to a 4-year, $2.95 million contract with a signing bonus of $619,890.[16]
Cook began his rookie season for the Raiders as the third-string quarterback on the depth chart behind starterDerek Carr and second-stringerMatt McGloin. On December 24, 2016, Cook was raised to backup quarterback after Carr suffered a season-ending rightfibula injury. On January 1, 2017, Cook made his NFL debut, entering the game late in the first half after starter McGloin suffered a shoulder injury.[17] He played for the remainder of the game. In the third quarter, he threw his first NFL touchdown, a 32-yard pass to wide receiverAmari Cooper. He completed 14 of 21 passes for 150 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception as the Raiders lost to theDenver Broncos by a score of 24–6.[18] On January 4, Cook was named the starter for theAmerican Football Conference (AFC) Wildcard Game against theHouston Texans.[19] McGloin was limited in practice due to his injury but was still active as Cook's backup for the playoff game.[20][21][22] Cook became the first quarterback in theSuper Bowl era to make his first career start in a playoff game.[23][24] On January 7, 2017, in theAFC Wildcard Game against the Texans, Cook completed 18 of 45 passes for 161 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions as the Raiders lost 27–14.[25] In the loss, he threw his first career postseason touchdown toAndre Holmes in the fourth quarter.
Cook saw no action in 2017 as the third-string quarterback behind Carr and new second-stringerEJ Manuel. He was only active for one game the whole season.
On September 1, 2018, Cook was released after the Raiders traded forA. J. McCarron.[26]
On September 6, 2018, Cook was signed to thepractice squad of theCarolina Panthers.[27] He was released on October 9, 2018.[28]
Cook was signed by theCincinnati Bengals to their practice squad on November 5, 2018.[29]
On January 1, 2019, Cook signed a reserve/future contract with theDetroit Lions.[30] In June 2019, the Lions released Cook and signed QuarterbackDavid Fales.[31]
Cook was selected by theHouston Roughnecks of theXFL in the 1st round with the second pick of the2020 XFL Draft.[31][32] However, Cook lost the quarterback competition to assigned playerP.J. Walker and assumed the backup position.[31] He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.[33]
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2016 | OAK | 1 | 0 | 14 | 21 | 66.7 | 150 | 7.1 | 1 | 1 | 83.4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Career[34] | 1 | 0 | 14 | 21 | 66.7 | 150 | 7.1 | 1 | 1 | 83.4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2016 | OAK | 1 | 1 | 18 | 45 | 40.0 | 161 | 3.6 | 1 | 3 | 30.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Career | 1 | 1 | 18 | 45 | 40.0 | 161 | 3.6 | 1 | 3 | 30.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | |
