This was thought to be likely, and now it’s official. The Oakland Raiders’ starting quarterback for their wild card game at NRG Stadium on Saturday afternoon is Connor Cook.
Cook, a rookie fourth round draft choice out of Michigan State, was a polarizing prospect leading up to the 2016 NFL Draft. Many pundits questioned Cook’s personality and/or leadership traits; whether that caused him to fall to the fourth round or not is anyone’s guess.
In any event, Cook hadn’t even dressed for a Raiders game this season prior to last week’s regular season finale; he was forced into the QB2 role due to Derek Carr’s season-ending injury.