The Jets announced a handful of roster moves on Thursday, including the addition of a quarterback to their practice squad.
Hendon Hooker is the new addition to a quarterback room that also includes Brady Cook, Tyrod Taylor, and Justin Fields. Hooker was a 2023 third-round pick by the Lions and Jets head coach Aaron Glenn was the Lions’ defensive coordinator at the time.
Hooker missed his rookie season while recovering from a torn ACL and appeared in three games during the 2024 season. He spent time on the Panthers’ practice squad after being let go by the Lions this summer.
The Jets also announced that they have signed defensive tackle Payton Page to the active roster from the practice squad. He has appeared in two games this season.
Safety Tony Adams was placed on injured reserve in a corresponding move. He had 49 total tackles and a sack in 12 appearances before his season-ending groin injury.
Allen Lazard is free to reunite with Aaron Rodgers. If the Steelers want him. And if he wants the Steelers.
The former Packers and Jets receiver cleared waivers on Wednesday, making him a free agent.
Because Lazard didn’t waive his right to termination pay in order to secure his release, Lazard will be entitled to recover the remaining $291,667 of his $1.75 million base salary from the Jets. He’ll also be able to keep whatever he makes elsewhere, without offset.
He spent five seasons in Green Bay with Rodgers. Lazard then signed with the Jets in 2023, the same offseason during which Rodgers was traded there.
Lazard renegotiated his contract to stay with the Jets, in lieu of being released and potentially joining Rodgers in Pittsburgh. Now, Lazard is free and clear to join the Steelers or any other team, at any time.
The 49ers have brought in a fourth quarterback.
San Francisco announced on Wednesday that the club has signed Adrian Martinez to its practice squad.
Martinez has bounced between the 49ers practice squad and 53-man roster this season before a quick stint last week with the Jets’ practice squad. He briefly appeared in one game for San Francisco to take a knee to cap the team’s Nov. 2 victory over the Giants.
Martinez’s signing gives the 49ers four quarterbacks in their building, with Mac Jones behind starter Brock Purdy on the 53-man roster and Kurtis Rourke on the reserve/non-football injury list.
Brady Cook will get another start at quarterback for the Jets this week.
Head coach Aaron Glenn announced that Cook will be in the starting lineup against the Saints on Sunday. Cook was 22-of-33 for 176 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions in last Sunday’s 48-20 loss to the Jaguars.
Cook moved into the first team because Tyrod Taylor and Justin Fields were sidelined by injuries. Glenn said that they are both set to practice this week, but that he wants to continue to evaluate the undrafted rookie while explaining why Cook will start.
Either Taylor or Fields will serve as Cook’s backup on Sunday and, assuming they’re both healthy enough to play, the other would be the emergency third quarterback.
With the Dolphins apparently moving on from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the next question becomes where his career will continue.
Plenty of teams will be looking for quarterbacks in the offseason. Tagovailoa has shown that he can operate an offense at a high level, when the play that’s called is there. When the play that’s called is stymied by the defense, things often go haywire.
Former Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard, who spent the early part of the season with the Colts before retiring, said after the Colts blew out the Dolphins in Week 1 that, if the first read is taken away, Tua slips into “panic mode.”
Whatever the label, he freezes. As the defender approaches, he doesn’t throw the ball away. He lacks the agility and speed to run away from the pressure and make something happen, like Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and/or Lamar Jackson. The play just disintegrates.
And while the Dolphins have tried, in vain, to coach him toward a solution for a play that goes sideways, another coach may think that he can do what neither Brian Flores nor Mike McDaniel have been able to accomplish in six NFL seasons.
It all comes down to the options available for the teams that will be looking for a veteran quarterback. Those teams currently include, in our assessment, the Jets (he’s 7-0 against them), Steelers, Browns, Raiders, Vikings, Falcons, and Cardinals.
If the Dolphins cut Tua, he can sign with another team for the veteran minimum, like the Steelers did last year with Wilson. It’ll be a low-risk, high-reward option for a team that believes it can get more out of Tua than the Dolphins did.
And if enough teams are interested, perhaps a trade becomes possible. Even if the Dolphins would have to pay a lot of the money Tua is owed next year.
It’s not a crazy thought, even if it won’t be easy to get him to bail on a bad play before the bad play becomes a sack or a fumble or an interception. Given the good things he has shown he can do — good enough to get a $53.1 million per year contract — some team will be willing to give Tua a try.
