The New York Jets are expected to make Dalvin Cook’s release official Wednesday, meaning that the running back will be able to sign with a contender just before the playoffs.
According to Josina Anderson of ESPN, the Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys are two teams that are expected to have interest in Cook if and when he clears waivers.
Cook signed a one-year deal with the Jets back in August and was expected to take on a major role in the team’s offense. However, things changed for New York when prized offseason acquisition Aaron Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles on the club’s first offensive series of Week 1.
What was expected to be an elite offense has ended up becoming one of the worst offenses in football, and Cook carried the ball just 67 times for 214 yards in the process.
Cook’s lack of activity with Gang Green was certainly strange and could speak to the potential that he is simply not the same player anymore, but the fact that he just made the Pro Bowl in his final season with the Minnesota Vikings last year lends credence to the notion that Cook definitely has something left in the tank and can certainly help a contender heading into the postseason.
The 28-year-old, who played his collegiate football at Florida State, was originally selected by the Vikings in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
A torn ACL prematurely ended Cook’s rookie campaign after just four games, but by his third season, Cook had begun to establish himself as one of the league’s premier all-purpose backs. He made four straight trips to the Pro Bowl between 2018 and 2022, with his best season coming in 2020 when he racked up 1,557 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground while catching 44 passes for 361 yards and a score.
The Ravens lost J.K. Dobbins to a torn Achilles at the beginning of the year, so they could certainly use Cook’s help in their backfield. As for the Cowboys, Tony Pollard has been a disappointment, and Dallas has very limited depth behind him.
We’ll see if Dalvin Cook can push a contending club over the top this winter.
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