Dalvin Cook saw his brief and underwhelming Jets tenure come to an end Tuesday. As a result, he is on the waiver wire until Thursday afternoon. A free-agent agreement with a playoff-bound team (presuming he clears) would come as little surprise.
Suitors in that regard may be emerging. CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson reports the Ravens and Cowboys are among the teams that could consider adding the four-time Pro Bowl running back. No firm interest appears to be in place at this point, and that will likely remain the case until Cook clears waivers. Still, both teams would represent logical landing spots if a deal were to emerge.
As Anderson notes, Baltimore would specifically be eyeing Cook as a practice squad addition. (The same will likely be true for Dallas and any other interested parties.) Players added to the taxi squad can be designated a game-day elevation up to three times without occupying a 53-man roster spot, something of particular importance in the postseason.
The Ravens lead the league in rushing this season, averaging nearly 160 yards per game on the ground. Quarterback Lamar Jackson has accounted for for a large portion of that success, however, and the team finds itself thin in the backfield late in the year. Starter J.K. Dobbins was lost for the season to an Achilles tear in Week 1, but undrafted rookie Keaton Mitchell burst onto the scene midway through the campaign. The latter took on an increased workload upon entering the lineup, and he averaged 8.4 yards per carry in his brief stretch of action.
However, Mitchell suffered an ACL tear last month, sidelining him until 2024. The Ravens will therefore depend largely on Gus Edwards and Justice Hill at the RB spot in the postseason. Cook could attempt to carve out a limited role in Baltimore’s backfield while looking to boost his free-agent stock in the process.
The Cowboys have not been as strong as expected on the ground this season, the first full campaign with Tony Pollard in place as the undisputed lead back. Playing on the $10.1M franchise tag in 2023, Pollard has posted a career-low 4.0 yards per carry average; his impact in the passing game (295 scoreless yards on 53 receptions) has also left something to be desired. He will still enter the postseason as the clear option atop the depth chart, though.
Dallas’ second-leading rusher, Rico Dowdle, has amassed just 315 yards this year. That has contributed to the Cowboys’ middling performance in their ground attack (averaging 112 yards per contest, 14th in the NFL). Cook may have a clearer path to playing time with Dallas, but questions will be asked with respect to how much he will be able to contribute to close out the campaign. The longtime Vikings starter logged just 67 carries with the Jets this year, the first time he failed to receive triple-digit attempts since 2018.
David Moore of the Dallas Morning News notes the Cowboys are simply doing their due diligence on Cook at this point. With further developments likely to take place in the near future, the interest shown by Dallas, Baltimore and any other RB-needy teams will be a storyline to follow closely in advance of the postseason.
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