The Kansas City Chiefs' secondary will look quite different in 2026. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo lost some key contributors like Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, but they weren't the only veterans to take their talents elsewhere.
Safety Brian Cook jumped ship to join one of the most hated rivals. The Cincinnati Bengals gave him a three-year, $40.3 million deal, and as much as the Chiefs liked him, they were never going to match that type of cash.
That may have been a double win for general manager Brett Veach. Not only did he avoid overpaying for an average player, but he'll now see a hated AFC rival do so. According to Bleacher Report's Moe Moton, Cook is now the most overpaid safety in the league.
The Chiefs dodged a big bullet with Bryan Cook's free agency
"The NFL's top safeties are either ballhawks or make game-changing plays in various roles. Bryan Cook is a solid player at the position, but he doesn't fit into either of those categories," wrote Moton.
With his new deal, the Bengals will pay Cook $18 million, the fifth-highest mark among safeties in 2026. However, even if he's not necessarily a bad player, he certainly hasn't played up to that standard.
Cook is far from a ball-hawk in coverage. He has a grand total of 15 passes defensed and three interceptions in 62 career games, and that's despite spending extensive time at both nickel and free safety.
He's given up a passer rating of 128, and just last season, he allowed 21 catches. He's not a factor as a blitzer, either, and he makes most of his damage against the run in stacked boxes. That's not necessarily bad, but again, not worthy of that much money.
The Bengals have shot themselves in the foot with their lack of defensive prowess every year. Joe Burrow has had to do most of the heavy lifting, but there's only so much he and Ja'Marr Chase can do when the defense can't seem to get a stop.
As a result, Cincy may have overcompensated and overpaid to try to fix their defense overnight. That doesn't always work that way, and paying Cook as one of the best players in the position is a prime example of that.
He's not on the same tier as the likes of Derwin James or Kyle Hamilton. He's not even as good as Nick Emmanwori, who's only been in the league for one year. The Chiefs might do just fine with Chamarri Conner, Alohi Gilman, and Jaden Hicks, all while the Bengals might have a tough time getting a strong return on their investment.
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