Ryan Cook (American football)

Games played:	90
Games started:	51
Fumble recoveries:	2

Ryan Cook
No. 62, 63
Position:	Albuquerque (NM) Cibola
College:	New Mexico
NFL draft:	2006 / Round: 2 / Pick: 51
Career history
	Minnesota Vikings (2006–2010); Miami Dolphins (2011); Dallas Cowboys (2012–2013);
Career highlights and awards
	3× All-Mountain West (2003, 2004, 2005);
Career NFL statistics
Games played:
Games played:	90
Games started:	51
Fumble recoveries:	2
	Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Ryan Cook (born May 8, 1983) is a former American football center who spent eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of New Mexico and was selected in the 2nd round of the 2006 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings. He also played for the Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys.

Early years

Cook played offensive tackle for

Cibola High School under head coach Ben Shultz. He was a three-year letterman

, and earned First Team All-City and Second Team All-State honors as a senior and Second Team All-City as a sophomore. He also accepted an invitation to play in the New Mexico North-South All-Star game.

College career

Cook played for the

center

for three consecutive years, being the first center to do so in New Mexico's history.

In his career, he had 416 knockdown

East-West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl

, accepting the invitation of the latter.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings (first stint)

Cook was selected by the

right tackle

.

He lost his starting position in the 2009 season to rookie

right guard

.

On August 4, 2011, Cook was re-signed to a two-year contract. On September 3, he was released in the final cuts before the start of the 2011 season.[3]

Miami Dolphins

Cook signed with the Miami Dolphins as a free agent on September 5, 2011. During the season, he played as a backup center and guard. The next year, he was beaten out by rookie Josh Samuda for the backup center role.

On August 31, 2012, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys, in exchange for a seventh round draft pick (#224-Kevin Dorsey).^[4]

Dallas Cowboys

After being with the team less than a week, he was forced to assume the starting

center role when Phil Costa aggravated a back injury after the first series of the season opener. He became the starter for the rest of the season, after Costa suffered a partially dislocated ankle in the fifth game against the Carolina Panthers. In the 2013 training camp, he was placed on the injured reserve list after suffering a back injury.^[5]