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Jacksonville Jaguars punter Logan Cooke was named the team’s nominee for the 2025 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
The award is given to recognize a player’s “excellence on and off the field” and is considered by some to be the league’s most prestigious honor. Cooke was accused of threatening to “kill” an opposing player last week.
The allegations came after Jacksonville’s 25-3 victory over the Tennessee Titans last Sunday.
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Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Cam Little (39) celebrates a field goal against the Tennessee Titans with Logan Cooke, left, during the first half of an NFL football game on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Titans running back Julius Chestnut alleged that Cooke threatened him in the fourth quarter. During a punt in that quarter, Cooke tripped punt returner Chimere Dike at the end of a 47-yard return with 14:06 left in the game. Cooke was injured and evaluated for a concussion before returning for a punt later in the quarter.
Players from both teams got into another fight at the end of another Dike comeback with 11:49 left in the game. This led to Chestnut and Cooke having an incident. Cooke was among those who received a penalty for unnecessary roughness. Titan Security Mike Brown was ejected.
“I was just trying to play hard, and he came up to me and told me he was going to kill me,” Chestnut said after the game. “So I don’t know what prompted him to do that.”
Chestnut said he never received an explanation for why Cooke was angry with him.
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Tennessee Titans safety Mike Brown (44) runs toward Jacksonville Jaguars punter Logan Cooke (9) during the second half at Nissan Stadium. No penalty was called on the November 30, 2025 play. (Steve Roberts/Image Images)
“That was surprising to me. I’d never seen anything like that before,” Chestnut said.
Cooke was not asked specifically about his heated moment with Chestnut. He said after the game that he likes to hit people and that Chestnut outplayed him during the “eventful” game.
Cooke acknowledged that he made “rude” comments to the referee after the match.
“I might have said some things that sounded rude, so I wanted to clear things up,” Cooke said of his conversation with the referee. “I don’t like people to have a grudge against me. So I tell them the situation and also get their opinion on what happened on that play in the end zone.”
Cooke, a Pro Bowl selection last season, has been with the Jaguars for eight years. Jacksonville selected him in the seventh round of the 2018 draft.
Social media users had mixed reactions to Cooke’s nomination in the days following the accusation.
“W.P.[M]OY nominee is here threatening to eliminate his opponents,” one user wrote.
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Another user wrote: “Well deserved, he’s been killing it on and off the field.”
Meanwhile, the Houston Texans nominated linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair for the prestigious award. Al-Shaair received criticism last season when he delivered an illegal hit on Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Travis Kelce, Derrick Henry, Baker Mayfield and Jordan Love are among the 32 other players nominated for the award this year.
