Getty Jason Licht could bring in Dalvin Cook to boost the running game.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could aid their running game issues with running back Dalvin Cook, whom the New York Jets waived on Tuesday, January 2.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Jets and Cook “mutually agreed upon” upon the decision and that Cook wants to join a playoff team.
The Buccaneers could make the playoffs with a win over the Carolina Panthers and/or a New Orleans Saints loss in Week 18.
Cook meanwhile could turn around his dismal 2023 season with the Buccaneers or another new team. He played sparingly in New York with 67 carries for 214 yards and no touchdowns behind running back Breece Hall.
Four-time Pro Bowl RB Dalvin Cook and the #Jets have mutually agreed to part ways, allowing Cook the opportunity to play for a playoff team, per his agency @LAASportsEnt.
The dynamic playmaker has fresh legs after minimal usage in NY and can now compete for a Super Bowl.
Before Cook’s subpar stint in the Big Apple, he shined with the Minnesota Vikings from 2017 to 2022 with 5,993 yards rushing for 47 touchdowns plus 221 catches for 1,794 yards and five scores. Cook remained a big playmaker throughout that time, including his electric moments in 2022 when he reeled off touchdown runs of 81 and 53 yards during the season.
He rushed for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns on 264 rushes in 2022 on an average of 4.4 yards per carry. Cook’s contract of five years, $63 million led to his end in Minnesota when the team cut him in June 2023 — a year when other big names such as Ezekiel Elliott and Leonard Fournette got cut.
Tampa Bay notably parted ways with Fournette due to a three-year, $21 million deal in order to save salary cap space. The Buccaneers could afford to sign Cook for certain after he clears waivers amid $3.6 million in salary cap space.
Cook previously signed a one-year, $7 million deal with the Jets, but forfeited his remaining guarantees, Schefter reported. When Cook signed, he had $5.8 million guaranteed in his contract.
Baker Mayfield Could Get Another Quality Target With Dalvin Cook
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield has relied on running back Rachaad White in the passing game nearly as much as the running game this season. Cook could only add to that.
White has 60 catches for 531 yards and three touchdowns for third among all Buccaneers receivers. Cook had similar success in the Vikings’ passing attack with an average of 36.8 receptions and 299 yards in 12 games per season during his time there.
Overall, Cook averaged 8.1 yards per reception with the Vikings. New York didn’t get to utilize that part of Cook’s game with quarterback Aaron Rodgers sidelined, and fellow Jets quarterbacks such as Zach Wilson, Trevor Siemian, and Tim Boyle have struggled their way through the season.
Dalvin Cook Believes He Has Something Left
Cook wants to return to his prior success after a season that began with Super Bowl hopes curtailed by Rodgers’ season-ending injury.
“For any guy that has produced in this league, it’s frustrating,” Cook said via ESPN in December 2023, ESPN’s Rich Cimini wrote. “You want to be productive.”
Cook would certainly get his chance in Tampa Bay where the running game ranks second to last in the league. The Buccaneers average a league-worst 3.4 yards per carry and 87.3 yards per game.
White has 915 yards and six touchdowns on 3.6 yards per attempt. Chase Edmonds has come on of late with 45 carries for 149 yards in 12 games played.