The New York Jets are 3-11 and are amid a forgettable 2025 season. While Justin Fields $40 million experiment was a massive failure, Tyrod Taylor hasn't performed well enough to justify coming back next season either.
Undrafted rookie free agent Brady Cook is getting the starts for the Jets right now, and while he was starting due to Taylor and Fields being injured, the dynamic is a bit different in Week 16.
NFL Insider Ian Rapoport reports that the Jets are expected to use Taylor as a backup for Cook. So, why are the Jets starting Cook when Taylor is active enough to be the backup? The reason is a simple one.
Why Jets are starting Brady Cook over Tyrod Taylor
"Jets QB Tyrod Taylor, questionable with groin and knee injuries, is expected to be the backup QB to Brady Cook on Sunday, source said," Rapoport reports.
Cook is the starter in Week 16, and Taylor, coming off multiple injuries, will be the backup for the Jets this weekend. Ideally, he doesn't have to come into the game banged up.
But the injuries to Taylor are likely not the only reason why the Jets are not starting him over Cook this week. Despite Aaron Glenn admitting the team isn't tanking, the Jets would be better off losing out this season.
If Glenn deems Taylor the better starter, which would make sense based on his years of experience and play at times this season, then Cook getting the start could, in theory, help the Jets lose.
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But if the Jets find a way to beat the New Orleans Saints in Week 16, it would be thanks to Cook playing well enough to become an intriguing name to monitor as the 2025 season comes to a close.
Seeing what a rookie has for a team like the Jets makes the most sense. The final few weeks of the 2025 season are all about seeing what they have in young players for the 2026 season.
The Jets could find out that Cook is a decent enough quarterback to trust as a backup in 2026, and the only way to find that out is if he continues starting for the Jets.
Expect Cook to remain the starter barring an injury, as the Jets are now focused entirely on the 2026 NFL Draft and next season, as opposed to winning games this year.
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