Alex Cook's Long Road to the Rams: A UFL Star Fighting for a Roster Spot
The former Birmingham Stallions safety put up 45 tackles and 2 defensive TDs in the UFL. Now he's buried fourth on LA's strong safety chart.
Camp long shot with playmaking upside — nowhere near fantasy relevance yet.
- 45 total tackles, 1 INT in 2025 UFL season
- 70-yard pick-six vs Gamblers on June 6
- 73-yard scoop-and-score in UFL Week 10
- Listed 4th on Rams strong safety depth chart
- 82 tackles as a Washington senior (All-PAC-12)
Alex Cook has bounced through five NFL organizations without ever locking down a permanent home, and now he's trying again in Los Angeles. The 6-foot, 195-pound defensive back landed on the Rams' offseason roster after a genuinely loud 2025 spring with the UFL's Birmingham Stallions, where he racked up 45 total tackles (27 solo), 6 pass breakups, an interception and a fumble recovery.
The tape wasn't just filler stats, either. Cook returned a one-handed pick 70 yards for a touchdown against the Gamblers on June 6, then added a 73-yard scoop-and-score off a knocked-out backwards lateral against the Columbus Aviators in Week 10. That's the kind of splash-play production that gets a journeyman a real look.
There's history here, too. Cook played at Washington alongside current Rams like nobody left standing — but he was teammates with Puka Nacua, Trent McDuffie and kicker Harrison Mevis under Jimmy Lake, who's now LA's pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach. That connection is doing some heavy lifting in explaining how Cook ended up on this specific roster.
The Résumé
Cook went undrafted in 2023, caught on with the Giants, got poached by the Panthers, played 10 games (starting 2) in Carolina, then cycled back through New York's practice squad and a Bears reserve/future deal that ended in a waiving seven months later. He converted from wide receiver to safety at Washington and didn't break out until his senior year, when he posted a team-high 82 tackles and made the All-PAC-12 Second Team.
The Fantasy Fallout
For IDP managers, the situation is straightforward: Cook sits fourth on the strong safety chart behind Nate Valcarcel, and the Rams' top five of Kam Curl, Kamren Kinchens, McDuffie, Jaylen Watson and Quentin Lake is set. The one wrinkle is that LA treats its defensive backs as interchangeable, so a versatile playmaker who can cover and hit could carve out a niche if injuries strike.
Bottom line: Cook is a name to file away, not a name to roster. Even in deep IDP formats, he's a camp watch until he actually earns snaps behind that crowded secondary. Keep an eye on the preseason box scores — if the special-teams and coverage flashes carry over, he's earned more than 'just another camp body' status.
