Johnie Cooks, the  former Colts, Giants and Browns linebacker, dies age 64

Johnie Cooks – the former NFL linebacker who played for the Colts, New York Giants and Cleveland Browns – has died at the age of 64.

Colts owner Jim Irsay confirmed the news on his Twitter, saying: ‘Rest in peace, Johnie Cooks’.

A cause of death has not yet been given but Starkville Daily News said that he had some health issues. He played 83 games with 74 starts over seven seasons with the Colts.

Cooks won the Super Bowl with the Giants in 1991 and retired at the Browns in 1992.

Johnie Cooks, a former Colts, Giants and Browns linebacker, has died at the age of 64,

He was inducted into the Mississippi Hall of Fame in 2004. Cooks had played college football at Mississippi States.

‘The Mississippi State family mourns the loss of all-time Bulldog great Johnie Cooks,’ they said on Thursday. ‘Cooks was an SEC football legend and among the greatest to ever represent the Maroon and White. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.’

In the NFL Draft in 1982, Cooks was the second choice and went to the Baltimore Colts and was there for six years, including when they relocated to Indianapolis in 1983.

In 1988, Cooks was released and the Giants signed him and three years later, he became a Super Bowl champion.

The Giants edged the Buffalo Bills 20-19 in Florida – a game remembered for Scott Norwood of the Bills missing a 47-yard field goal attempt at the end of the game.

Former Mississippi Bulldogs teammate John Bond also tweeted about the death of Cooks, saying: ‘Gonna miss ya Big Dawg! You were the best ever! Love ya my Brother!’

Mississippi State Director of Athletics Zac Selmon added: ‘Johnie Cooks is without question among the very best to ever put on the Maroon and White while also standing as one of the most decorated college football players of his era.

Cooks played for the Colts, Browns and Giants – where he won the Super Bowl in 1991

‘He truly did it all in his career, from earning accolade after accolade as a Bulldog, to winning a Super Bowl in the NFL. 

‘Johnie will be remembered forever in Starkville as he is cemented as an MSU legend. 

‘We extend our deepest condolences to Johnie’s family, as well as all who knew, loved and admired him.’

In a video on the Mississippi State Athletics YouTube channel filmed four years, Cooks spoke of how playing football in Mississippi shaped him.

‘They changed my whole life and they changed my family’s life,’ he said. ‘They saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself.

‘I needed them a lot more than they needed me.’