Dalvin Cook joining Jets on one-year deal, source says
Running back Dalvin Cook walks off the field before a preseason game between the Vikings and Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on August 14, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Credit: Getty Images
The already all-in Jets made yet another blockbuster move on Monday in an attempt to push themselves toward a Super Bowl title this season, agreeing to terms on a one-year deal with free-agent running back Dalvin Cook.
A league source confirmed that Cook’s deal, once he signs it, will be worth up to $8.6 million, as first reported by NFL Network. That paperwork should be completed soon; Cook is due to become a first-time father in the coming days and is expected to join the team shortly after that event.
The acquisition gives the Jets a Pro Bowl-caliber running back to go along with an offense that has in the past few months added future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receivers Allen Lazard, Mecole Hardman Jr. and Randall Cobb.
Cook, who just turned 28, rushed for more than 1,100 yards during the past four seasons and had four straight Pro Bowl selections. His six-year tenure in Minnesota ended in June with his release because of his salary-cap cost.
The Jets already have a pretty good running back on their roster in Breece Hall, who likely would have been last year’s offensive rookie of the year had he not torn his ACL in late October. Hall remains on the PUP list while recovering from that injury, and the addition of Cook means the Jets will not have to rush him back for the start of the regular season. Ideally, by the second half of the schedule, they will have both available for a playoff push.
Though the deal was completed Monday, the wooing had been taking place for several weeks. Cook visited the Jets in late July for a physical and to watch the team practice, but he left without a contract.
At the time, coach Robert Saleh called it “a meet-and-greet.”
“I don’t know about recruiting,” he said. “I think it’s more just get a feel and make the best decision for your family.”
Still, Saleh made it clear the Jets wanted Cook.
“He’s dynamic,” he said. “He’s a dynamic ballcarrier. He’s been a dynamic ballcarrier for a long time. He’s great in the pass game. I’m not going to get detailed. You can’t say no to a good football player. They usually find a way.”
Cook said in several interviews that he was making up his mind between the Jets and his hometown Dolphins as a destination for this season after he was released from the Vikings in the offseason. The Jets intrigued him, he said, because of the talent they have on their team.
“I think we’re in a position of a team that’s building something special and I want to be a part of something special as a player and I want to add to whatever they got going on,” Cook said in a segment on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” the day before his visit to Florham Park.
Cook’s deal with the Jets came just hours after another high-profile free-agent running back, Ezekiel Elliott, agreed with the Patriots on a one-year deal reportedly worth up to $6 million.
The Jets have some decisions to make about a suddenly crowded backfield . . . and perhaps some collateral for trades to recoup some of the future draft picks they spent in building their current team.
Third-year back Michael Carter is coming off a disappointing 2022 season but has played well this summer. “He feels like he is damn near back,” Saleh said after Carter’s strong performance in Saturday’s preseason win over the Panthers. They also have rookie Izzy Abanikanda and second-year back Bam Knight.
Carter, who was frustrated last year when the Jets traded for James Robinson in the aftermath of Hall’s injury and he was not given an opportunity to earn the clear starting job, has been vocal in recent weeks suggesting that the Jets have plenty of talent in their running backs room without having to add Cook.
The Jets obviously saw it differently.
Cook is coming off shoulder surgery in February, but the Jets appeared comfortable with his physical status after examining him during his visit two weeks ago.
Rodgers gave his seal of approval in a media session on Aug. 1.
“I’ve seen him firsthand a lot of times,” he said of his former NFC North foe. “We had a game against him early in the season [in 2018] that I think we tied and he changed the course of that game. We were kind of beating them up pretty good [in another game in 2019], and then in the first play of the second half he went 75 [yards] untouched for a touchdown. That’s his ability. He was able to always impact the game. Tough guy, but also elusive. Good one-cut guy, speed, power, good out of the backfield.
“I love the guys that we’ve got. I think there’s a lot of talent there, a lot of opportunity. But any time you can add a veteran player, you would be excited about that for sure.”
Two weeks later, as with many of the Jets’ wildest plans in building this year’s roster, excitement has become reality.
With Al Iannazzone
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
