FRISCO, Texas -- When 2023 NFL interceptions leader and All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland went down with a stress fracture in his foot, Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said he was "not at all" interested in looking at external help at corner.
That certainly wasn't the case at the running back position. Fresh off signing 2023 first-team All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb to a four-year, $136 million extension with $100 million guaranteed, Jones has since made another big move, as the team is set to sign four-time Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook. Cook worked out for Dallas on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, Jones confirmed that Cook will initially join the practice squad.
"Well, Dalvin is someone we all have an appreciation for his career," Jones said Wednesday. "He gives us a chance to get in here and run the system. He's initially on the practice squad, gives him a chance to get in here and learn the system. We had hoped that as time went along in this offseason, we would have an opportunity to maybe look at a player of his stature if the right circumstances came along. They came along. We're appreciative of it. We had a workout for him. He's in good shape. He'll get a lot more work. He will learn the system as he goes,. and he could really help us out this year."
Cook played his first five seasons (2017-2021) under Cowboys new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who was the Minnesota Vikings coach at the time. He has made the Pro Bowl in four of the last five years, and has rushed for at least 1,135 yards in each of those four campaigns from 2019 to 2022 in Minnesota. Zimmer's evaluation of Cook heavily factored into his signing, as it did with the free agent acquisition of another former Viking in defensive tackle Linval Joseph.
"You got to know who's saying [it]," Jones said, explaining how he decides on whose recommendations to take when it comes to player acquisitions. "Well, hello Zimmer, we know who's saying it, has a recommendation so to speak. There's no question, these players that you see that played for him were greatly influenced by his assessment of how they could help us win."
In 2023, Cook played in 15 games with the New York Jets, but he totaled just 214 rushing yards on 67 carries (3.2 yards per carry, a career low) behind a depleted Jets line while taking handoffs from a rotation of quarterbacks who weren't Aaron Rodgers. He ended up finishing the year with the Baltimore Ravens and totaling 23 rushing yards on eight carries against the Houston Texans in the 2023 AFC divisional round. He is now 29 years old, just a few weeks younger than Ezekiel Elliott.
Jones cited the help both Elliott and Cook can provide in the red zone as motivating factors for signing them. Dallas' 56.3% red zone touchdown rate ranked 14th in the NFL in head coach Mike McCarthy's first season as the team's offensive play-caller despite the team leading the league in scoring offense (29.9 points per game) in 2023.
"That adds up to 58. Seriously," Jones quipped when asked about adding another running back, who like Elliott, is approaching 30. "But really, we're in a great position to have flexibility here. We got Malik Davis back on the practice squad. We have Dalvin on the practice squad. We're all excited about what Zeke can do for us. We needed to have improvement, especially in that red zone, needed to have improvement getting in that end zone with that running game. this all bolsters that up. I'm really pleased with where we are right now at running back."
Dalvin Cook in January pic.twitter.com/ST9vPVRYko
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 27, 2024
Since 2019, Cook has the fourth-most rushing yards (5,238), tied for the fourth-most rushing touchdowns (43) and the fifth-most rushing first downs (268). He is the Vikings' third-leading rusher with 5,993 yards, trailing only Robert Smith and Adrian Peterson. His 47 rushing touchdowns rank fourth in Vikings history.
Cook reportedly used much of the 2024 offseason to rehab from shoulder surgery and "feels the best he has in years," per NFL Media. With Cook aboard, it will be interesting to see how many running backs the Cowboys carry on their 53-man roster. Rico Dowdle, Elliott and Deuce Vaughn all made the initial 53-man roster along with second-year fullback Hunter Luepke.
