The Miami Dolphins surprised many when they overhauled their non-Malik Willis quarterback room, trading for Kyle McCord and adding former New York Jets backup Brady Cook via waivers.
Cook will be elevated to the 53-man roster despite his play not warranting such a lofty promotion. The NFL has always been about connections, especially when it comes to filling out the back end of the roster. However, the Dolphins may have leaned too hard on familiarity here.
Bush Hamdan, Miami's new quarterbacks coach, was the quarterbacks coach at Missouri between 2020 and 2022. It just so happens that Cook's ascension to the Tigers' starting lineup came in 2022 when Hamdan was in charge. While this may seem like too much attention being paid to a third-string quarterback, this is also a backward way to go about building a roster.
Miami Dolphins QB coach Bush Hamdan may be why Brady Cook was added
Cook was not even an amazing college quarterback at Missouri. His conservative play during the 2024 season helped Luther Burden III fall from a first-round lock to the top of the second round and former Dolphin Theo Wease go from a toolsy Day 3 player to undrafted.
In parts of five games last season, Cook threw just two touchdown passes with seven interceptions, losing all of his starts. Those Jets teams may have been trying to lose for better NFL Draft positioning, but the main factor in their tank was starting Cook and seeing what would happen.
Bush Hamdan may be why the Miami Dolphins signed Brady Cook
There were other quarterbacks who may have had a bit more juice than Cook. Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Joe Milton has one of the strongest arms in the league, and former Tennessee Titans second-round pick Will Levis is worth developing.
Both of them were passed over in favor of Cook, who needed to really push to outplay Bailey Zappe in the Jets' last few preseason games.
Cook coming in isn't even a case of trying to get intel on an opponent early in the season, as the Jets and Dolphins don't square off until late October. Hamdan clearly said that he wanted "his guy" on the roster, even if "his guy" came at the expense of signing someone who could be a bit better if pressed into service.
Unless a Brock Purdy-like miracle happens, any team reduced to their third-string quarterback is in dire straits. Cook is not so different from the dozens of practice squad-level quarterbacks on the back end of rosters right now, but Miami could have found one with a slightly higher ceiling that didn't appear to be a favor called in by one of the team's top assistants.
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