GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Aaron Rodgers' agent sat in the back of the crowded room at AT&T Stadium where the Green Bay Packers quarterback held his news conference following last Sunday’s NFC divisional-playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

David Dunn, who has represented Rodgers since 2008, had just witnessed his client’s improbable completion to tight end Jared Cook to set up the winning field goal that sent the Packers into the NFC Championship Game.

On his way out of the interview room, Dunn stopped and marveled at just how quickly Rodgers and his first-year tight end formed a kinship.

“Count how many times Aaron said his name,” Dunn said.

For the record, it was five times in a 12-minute session: four references to “Cookie” and one “Jared Cook.”

In Rodgers’ nine seasons as a starter, there might not be a player he’s connected with more easily and more quickly than Cook. With the veteran tight end on the field this season, Rodgers’ numbers are far better than when he’s not -- even if Cook isn’t his intended target. The mere idea of a 6-foot-5, 254-pound target who can run a 4.5-second 40 forces defenses to alter their plans.

It can’t be a coincidence that the Packers’ fortunes began to turn around this season shortly after Cook returned from a six-game absence because of a sprained ankle. One game before the Packers started their run-the-table stretch, Cook caught six passes for 105 yards and a touchdown in his first game back.

The courtship of Cook was a long one by the Packers, and Cook was more than willing to wait, in large part because of the prospect of playing with Rodgers. In his first seven NFL seasons (four with Tennessee and three with St. Louis), Cook played with 11 different quarterbacks.

The Rams cut Cook in mid-February, three years into a five-year, $35 million contract. He didn’t sign with the Packers for almost six weeks. Some viewed that as a lack of interest from the market, but Cook had solid offers from at least three other teams, including one that’s still in the playoffs. Cook spent about 24 hours in Green Bay in mid-March, but a deal wasn't struck until the end of the month. He was willing to wait for the Packers because he was intent on finding the right fit, which meant finding the right quarterback.

“It was one of the main reasons why I looked to come here in free agency,” Cook said. “What he brought to the table as a player and as a person after I got to meet him, it just kind of sweetened the deal.”

Shortly after Cook signed a one-year, $2.75 million deal, he got a phone call from his new quarterback.

Except Cook didn’t pick up.

“I don’t answer unknown numbers,” Cook said.

“Then he just dropped me a text telling me who it was, and I called him back and we chatted for a little bit. It was just a casual conversation. Just excited to have me, look forward to working with me in the future type thing.”

Cook’s contribution to the Packers and his connection with Rodgers makes him a virtual must-re-sign this offseason, and Cook said recently that he wants to stay in Green Bay because it’s "the most fun I’ve ever had in my eight years of playing [in the NFL]." It’s the first time in his career he’s made the playoffs, and now he’s playing Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons to go to the Super Bowl.

It’s safe to say one of general manager Ted Thompson’s rare forays into free agency has paid off, if for no other reason than Cook’s 36-yard catch with three seconds left against the Cowboys on Sunday. He somehow managed to keep his size-15 feet in bounds while he secured the ball before his knees hit the sideline.

“I don’t know that I ever expected a dramatic play like I got the other night,” Thompson said this week in a rare in-season interview. “I’m not sure I’m that good a scout, but he’s a professional football player, and I mean that in a complimentary way, and he always was. The people he worked with that I talked to expressed those sentiments, and he’s been that. He’s uncharacteristically missed quite a bit of time, and he hasn’t in his history, so I don’t know if I need to get on him about that.”

Indeed, Cook’s six-game absence because of the Week 3 ankle injury was unusual. He missed just five games while with Tennessee and none with St. Louis. The knock on the 29-year-old wasn’t injuries, but rather dropping too many passes.

“The comments I heard before he got to us was about his hands,” Rodgers said. “And we haven't had any problems with that.”