Packers TE Jared Cook finds fried chicken head in takeout wing order

ByRob Demovsky ESPN logo
Friday, October 7, 2016

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Jared Cook made news again Friday, and this time it had nothing to do the with the ankle injury that has kept him out of the Green Bay Packers' lineup.

In fact, it didn't have anything to do with football. This time, it was about chicken wings.

Or, in this case, a chicken head.

The Packers tight end caused a stir when he tweeted a picture of what he said was a chicken head that came in his takeout order earlier this week from the Buffalo Wild Wings just down the street from Lambeau Field.

"I had drove there, took it all the way home, got home, started eating the first wing," Cook explained Friday. "As I was putting the bone back in the box, I saw the chicken head and immediately spit my food out."

The restaurant chain issued a statement Friday: "Buffalo Wild Wings takes food preparation, service and quality extremely seriously and we are looking into this situation. We've reached out to Jared Cook and our suppliers for more information."

Cook said he drove back to the restaurant, where he was given a refund and this explanation:

"They were just, like: 'We're sorry. Typically, this doesn't happen. That just means your food was fresh,'" Cook said. "OK, that doesn't make it any better."

Cook said he eventually plans to become a vegetarian, and his latest experience might help push him in that direction.

"Seeing as how it's one of my favorite foods, I don't see how I can give that up," Cook said. "My wife is a vegetarian, and she's strongly encouraging I become one now.

"I think it's good advice. Eventually, I will become one, but not right now."

Before he returned his order, he had a little fun with it.

"In the picture, I don't know if you noticed, but there's a fork stuck in the bottom of it. The first thing I did was, I FaceTimed her and I pretended the chicken head was talking to her via FaceTime. So, she was pretty grossed out."

Cook, 29, said he's never had anything like this happen to him before.

"I've never had anything that could taste me back in my food ever," Cook said.

ESPN's Darren Rovell contributed to this report.

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