Anthony Cook

Anthony Cook (born June 20, 2000) is an American professional football safety. He played college football at Texas and then went to training camp for the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 2025.

Early life Cook was born and raised in Houston where he played high school football at Houston Lamar. He was a first-team all district in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and a High School All-American. In 2016 he was Second Team All-USA Texas. In 2017 he was an ALL-USA Texas Football Team first-team selection.

After High School, he participated in the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

In 2019, he played in 11 games, had 24 tackles including one for a loss, 2 pass deflections and a forced fumble. A few weeks later, days before Texas opened preseason practice, Cook removed his name from the transfer database.

After struggling to find a place in the program, Cook thrived under new defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski where he was moved from cornerback to "Star" - the nickle-back in Kwiatkowski's defense - and became a regular starter. He co-led the team in pass breakups (with Jahdae Barron, T'Vondre Sweat and Jerrin Thompson) and was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention. He played in 12 games, recording 46 tackles, including 3 for a loss and 3 deflected pass, He also recorded a sack, forced fumble and recovered fumble on the same play against TCU. The Longhorns failed to qualify for a bowl game that year.

Taking advantage of the NCAA legislation that returned a year of eligibility to student-athletes whose seasons were curtailed or canceled because of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, Cook had a 5th year in 2022, during which he repeated as an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention, He played in 13 games, recorded 61 tackles, including 4 for a loss, 0.5 sacks, 5 deflected passes, and a forced fumble. Against Iowa State, he forced a fumble on the Cyclones’ final play that clinched a victory for Texas. He helped the Longhorn reach the Alamo Bowl for the 3rd time in four years and received the game's Fred Jacoby Sportsmanship Award.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs On May 6, 2023, the Kansas City Chiefs signed Cook to a three-year, $2.70 million contract as an undrafted free agent. He was released on August 29.

Calgary Stampeders On February 3, 2025, Cook signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was cut on May 10, 2025 as the Stampede reduced their roster to 85 players.