Getty New York Jets new running back Dalvin Cook with the Minnesota Vikings in 2020.
Former Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook is looking for a new home for the upcoming season and is interested in a reunion with Mike Zimmer, who returned to the NFL as defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys.
The Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehlkin reported on March 26 that Cook and Ezekiel Elliott are interested in signing with the Cowboys.
“Multiple people familiar with the players’ thinking told The News the veterans have interest in potentially signing with Dallas,” Gehklin wrote, adding that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones would not confirm nor deny a mutual interest in Cook.
Head coach Mike McCarthy made it clear that Dallas looks to add to their running back room after Tony Pollard signed with the Tennessee Titans in the offseason.
“I think we definitely want to add to the running back room,” coach Mike McCarthy said, per The Dallas Morning News. “We’re not done with that room by no means, whether it’s a veteran, whether it is a draft pick.”
Vikings Made the Right Call on Dalvin Cook
GettyEx-Jets RB Dalvin Cook breaks tackle against Texans.
After parting ways with the Vikings last offseason, Cook joined the New York Jets, signing a one-year contract ahead of the 2023 season. The Jets’ struggles without Aaron Rodgers also reflected onto Cook, who averaged a career-low 3.2 yards per carry in New York and was frustrated with his workload.
There was discussion of requesting a trade ahead of the league deadline in November, however, no move was made. Cook and the Jets came to a mutual agreement for his release with a game left in the season in January. His stint with the Jets ended with 67 carries for 213 yards in 15 games.
Cook’s hopes of landing with a playoff contender were realized after he signed with the Baltimore Ravens. He took eight carries for 23 yards in the fourth quarter of the Ravens’ divisional-round win over the Houston Texans, including a 19-yard gain on his first carry.
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The Vikings made the tough decision to move on from Cook at the right time as his efficiency plummeted in 2023.
Cook, 29, remains an explosive threat, however, he has struggled to make negative plays right the past few seasons.
Justin Jefferson Stunned Vikings Landed Ex-Packers RB Aaron Jones
GettyAaron Jones signed with the Vikings on March 12, 2024.
The NFL’s valuation of the running back position has reached a crossroads as many of the league’s top playmakers at the position have refused to take pay cuts in an ever-evolving passing league.
Aaron Jones was subject to that when the Green Bay Packers approached him for a second time in two years to take a pay cut (he took a $5 million pay cut to stay with the team in 2023). According to The Athletic, the Packers approached Jones asking to take at least a 50 percent pay cut — which he refused.
That led to Jones’ release and ultimately the Vikings’ fortune, signing Jones to a one-year, $7 million deal.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell addressed the ongoing devaluation of the running back position, which allowed the Vikings to get a steal in Jones that Justin Jefferson was thrilled by.
“I do think it’s gone a little too far because they are still a really really impactful position. I mean, when you talk to Justin Jefferson, and you tell him, ‘We brought Aaron Jones aboard,’ his first reaction is he’s shocked because he didn’t think it would even be possible for us to bring a guy like that who we play two times a year and have flat out felt his impact on a lot of football games,” O’Connell said at the NFL owners’ meetings on March 26.
“It’s gone to a place where it’s probably gone a little bit too far, and I know we benefitted from the opportunity to add a player like Aaron.”
Jones should give the Vikings running game a new dynamic. He’s a proven pass-protector, adept in a zone running scheme and is slippery when given the ball in the open field as a receiver.
He graded out as the ninth-highest graded back overall by Pro Football Focus (PFF) last season and was seventh in rushing grade.
“Jones earned an 85.7 PFF rushing grade in 2023, ranking seventh among running backs. His 3.4 yards after contact per carry mark tied with [Breece] Hall for fourth in the league, and he equaled Raheem Mostert for seventh in the league with an average of 4.8 yards per carry,” PFF’s Gordon McGuiness wrote.