FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Brady Cook is getting another chance to lead the New York Jets' offense.
Coach Aaron Glenn announced Wednesday that Cook will start at quarterback for the second game in a row and face the Saints on Sunday in New Orleans.
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New York Jets quarterback Brady Cook (4) runs on field before the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
New York Jets quarterback Brady Cook (4) runs with the ball against Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen (41) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
New York Jets quarterback Brady Cook looks to pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
New York Jets quarterback Brady Cook (4) looks to throw a pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
“I want to continue to evaluate him and see exactly how he's going to operate on a consistent basis,” Glenn said of the undrafted rookie.
Tyrod Taylor (groin) and Justin Fields (knee) sat out last week against Jacksonville, giving Cook his first regular-season start. Cook had an uneven performance in the 48-20 loss, during which he was 22 of 33 for 176 yards and one touchdown with three interceptions.
“There’s good things, there’s things to clean up and there’s a lot of work to do this week,” Cook said. “No. 1, for me, ball security. I don’t want turning the ball over to be a habit for me. That’s not something that’s been a part of my game in the past and that’s something I want to clean up this week.”
Glenn said the team will see how Taylor and Fields progress from their injuries this week to determine who will back up Cook in New Orleans. The Jets didn't practice Wednesday, but both Taylor and Fields were estimated by the team as limited participants on the injury report.
“I want to make sure that we get the person that's going to be the most healthiest and be able to operate as the (No.) 2,” Glenn said.
Last week, Adrian Martinez was elevated from the practice squad to be the Jets' No. 2 quarterback. But New York released Martinez on Tuesday, a sign that Taylor and Fields could be close to returning.
The Jets said last week that Cook was the first undrafted rookie quarterback to start for them since Bill Demory in 1973.
“I approach it as another opportunity,” Cook said. “That’s what this is — it’s opportunity for me to lead this team once again and try to go get a win on the road and it’s really as simple as that.”
Cook saw his first regular-season action two weeks ago when Taylor left late in the first quarter against Miami with an injured groin. Taylor was making his third consecutive start in place of the benched Fields, who was unable to serve as the backup against the Dolphins because of a knee ailment.
Cook went 14 of 30 for 163 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns in the 34-10 loss at Miami. The 24-year-old former Missouri star was then tabbed for his first regular-season start when both Taylor and Fields were ruled out last week.
“Him coming into the game, the first game when Tyrod got hurt and we were down 21 (points), man, that wasn't a good situation to be in,” Glenn said. "And then come back to another game and being down 21 (against Jacksonville), I want to see him in a situation where our defense and offense and special teams complement each other and see exactly how he's going to operate there.
“And I think he deserves an opportunity to do it.”
Glenn brushed aside a question as to whether Cook will remain the quarterback to finish out the season if he remains healthy.
“We're not worried about that right now,” the coach said. “The only thing I'll worry about is New Orleans right now.”
The Jets signed tight end Jeremy Ruckert to a two-year contract extension worth $10 million, keeping the 2022 third-round pick in the mix through the 2027 season.
Ruckert, a New York native who grew up rooting for the Jets, primarily has been used as a blocking tight end but has a career-high 20 receptions for 163 yards and a touchdown this season.
“It's the ultimate blessing,” Ruckert said. “I live a dream every day. I get to put on this uniform, run out of the locker room of a team that I used to sit in the stands and watch. I never take it lightly."
He has 55 career catches in 55 games, including 27 starts.
“I think I'm one of the coaches that's hard on Ruck as anybody,” Glenn said. “And the reason why is, man, there's so much meat on the bone for him improving. And he's improved so much from starting in training camp up until now.”
Tight end Mason Taylor (neck), safety Tony Adams (groin), linebacker Kiko Mauigoa (neck) and defensive lineman Eric Watts (concussion) were already ruled out for the game, Glenn said.
Star wide receiver Garrett Wilson (knee) remains on injured reserve with a knee injury that has sidelined him for five games. It's unclear if Wilson will return this season.
“That's something that between me, Garrett and the doctor will talk about,” Glenn said. “And I'll have an answer for you for that pretty soon.”
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New York Jets quarterback Brady Cook (4) runs on field before the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
New York Jets quarterback Brady Cook (4) runs with the ball against Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen (41) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
New York Jets quarterback Brady Cook looks to pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
New York Jets quarterback Brady Cook (4) looks to throw a pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina achieved a goal more than a century in the making on Wednesday when it secured federal recognition as a tribal nation through the passage of a defense bill in Congress.
The state-recognized tribe, whose historic and genealogical claims have been called into question by several tribal leaders, has been seeking federal acknowledgement for generations. Congress has considered the issue for more than 30 years, but the effort gained momentum after President Donald Trump endorsed the state-recognized tribe on the campaign trail last year.
Legislation to recognize the Lumbee Tribe had struggled to pass through Congress in recent years, but it was attached to the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which was passed by the Senate on Wednesday afternoon. It was unclear when the president would sign it.
“It means a lot because we have been figuring out how to get here for so long,” said Lumbee Tribal Chairman John Lowery moments after celebrating the victory in the office of North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis. “We have been second-class Natives and we will never be that again, and no one can take it away from us.”
With federal recognition comes a bevy of federal resources, including access to new streams of federal dollars and grants and resources like the Indian Health Service. It also allows the tribe to put land into trust, which gives it more control over things like taxation and economic development, such as a casino.
In the 1980s, the Lumbee Tribe sought recognition through the Office of Federal Acknowledgement within the Interior Department, which evaluates the historical and genealogical claims of tribal applicants. The office declined to accept the application, citing a 1956 act of Congress that acknowledged the Lumbee Tribe but withheld the benefits of federal recognition.
That decision was reversed in 2016, allowing the Lumbee to pursue recognition through the federal administrative process. The tribe instead continued to seek recognition through an act of Congress.
There are 574 federally recognized tribal nations. Since the Office of Federal Acknowledgement was established in 1978, 18 have been approved by the agency, while about two dozen have gained recognition through congressional legislation. Nineteen applications ranging from Maine to Montana are now pending before the agency, with at least one under consideration by Congress.
Once federally recognized, the Lumbee Tribe would become one of the largest tribal nations in the country, with about 60,000 members. Congressional Budget Office estimates have found that providing the tribe with the necessary federal resources would cost hundreds of millions of dollars in the first few years alone.
“Hopefully, Congress will expand the pie in appropriations so that the other tribes, many of which are poor, don’t suffer because there’s suddenly such a larger number of Native Americans in that region," said Kevin Washburn, former assistant secretary of Indian affairs at the Interior Department and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
Over 200 Lumbee members gathered in a gymnasium in Pembroke, North Carolina, to watch the final Senate vote on television. They celebrated with shouts, raised hands and applause as the unofficial tally indicated the bill would receive final congressional approval.
Victor Dial held his 8-month daughter Collins at the celebration. Dial’s grandfather is a late former tribal chairman.
“He told us the importance of this, and he told us this day would happen, but we didn’t know when,” Dial said. “I’m so glad my kids were here to see it.”
Not everyone in Indian Country is celebrating. The move has drawn opposition from some tribal leaders, historians and genealogists who argue that the Lumbee’s claims are unverifiable and that Congress should require the tribe to complete the formal recognition process.
“Federal recognition does not create us — it acknowledges us,” Shawnee Tribe Chief Ben Barnes, an opponent of Lumbee recognition, testified before the Senate last month. He warned against replacing historical documentation with political considerations.
Critics have noted that the Lumbee have a history of shifting claims and previously used different names, including Cherokee Indians of Robeson County, and say the tribe lacks a documented historical language.
“If identity becomes a matter of assertion rather than continuity, then this body will not be recognizing tribes, it will be manufacturing them,” Barnes told lawmakers.
The Lumbee Tribe counters that it descends from a mixture of ancestors “from the Algonquian, Iroquoian and Siouan language families,” according to its website, and notes it has been recognized by North Carolina since 1885.
While the Lumbee Tribe has received bipartisan support over the years, federal recognition became a campaign promise in 2024 for both Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
“He kept that promise and showed extraordinary leadership," said Tillis, the Republican senator who introduced a bill to recognize the Lumbee Tribe.
Robeson County, where most Lumbee members live, has shifted politically in recent years. Once dominated by Democrats, the socially conservative area has trended Republican. The Lumbee Tribe's members in North Carolina are an important voting block in the swing state, which Trump won by more than three points.
In January, Trump issued an executive order directing the Interior Department to develop a plan for Lumbee recognition. That plan was submitted to the White House in April, and a department spokesperson said the tribe was advised to pursue recognition through Congress.
Since then, Lowery, the tribal chairman, has worked closely with members of Congress, particularly Tillis, and appealed directly to Trump. In September, Lowery wrote to Trump announcing ancestral ties between the Lumbee Tribe and the president's daughter Tiffany Trump, according to Bloomberg, which first reported on the letter.
Associated Press writers Gary D. Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, Allen G. Breed in Pembroke, North Carolina, and Jacquelyn Martin in Washington, D.C., contributed.
John Lowery, N.C. State Rep. and Chairman of the Lumbee Tribe of N.C., center, leads a toast to Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., center, front right, as members of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, celebrate the passage of a bill granting their people federal recognition, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Austin Curt Thomas, 11, gets a celebratory fist bump from Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., as he and his father Aaron Thomas, of Pembroke, N.C., join fellow members of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, to celebrate after the passage of a bill granting their people federal recognition, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
People celebrate after passage of the National Defense Authorization Act by the U.S. Senate during a watch party hosted by the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Pembroke, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
People celebrate after passage of the National Defense Authorization Act by the U.S. Senate, during a watch party hosted by the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Pembroke, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
FILE - Members of the Lumbee Tribe bow their heads in prayer during the BraveNation Powwow and Gather at UNC Pembroke, March 22, 2025, in Pembroke, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce, file)
People sing while playing drums during a watch party hosted by the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Pembroke, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
People celebrate after passage of the National Defense Authorization Act by the U.S. Senate during a watch party hosted by the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Pembroke, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
People celebrate after passage of the National Defense Authorization Act by the U.S. Senate during a watch party hosted by the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Pembroke, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
People celebrate after passage of the National Defense Authorization Act by the U.S. Senate, during a watch party hosted by the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Pembroke, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
