NFL: Ranking Quarterbacks who were one-hit wonders: 9. Greg Cook
Greg Cook is one of the original quarterbacks of the “what if” Bengals from when they originally came into the league. Cook took over for John Stofa, who was the original starter for this franchise. It looked like the Bengals could be one of the very good teams in the league right away. Cook started his career 3-0, but an injury in his third game started the downfall.
Despite the injury, which ended up being an undiagnosed torn rotator cuff, he broke rookie records for yards per reception and yards per pass attempt. His 9 yards per attempt are still a record for rookies today. To compare, Mac Jones is just above 7 yards per attempt this year for the New England Patriots, as does Trey Lance with the San Francisco 49ers. They are leading the pack this season, but they are nowhere close to Cook’s record.
In the offseason, when Cook finally got surgery to repair his shoulder, it was revealed he also had a torn bicep. Surgeries provided futile, and he eventually had to retire after just one season as starter.
This is one of the most upsetting stories in the history of the league. A long history of mishandled injuries clouds the NFL, but Cook might be the number one player on the list of players who could have been great but got derailed.