The New York Jets are waiving 4x Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook with 1 game remaining in the 2023 season Cook’s agency confirmed.
The move, which was mutually agreed upon by the Jets and Cook’s representatives, will allow the former Viking to sign with a contender ahead of the 2023 NFL playoffs. The 28 year old will now be subject to a 24 hour waiver period.
Cook and the Jets never appeared to be on the same page as the veteran back saw his playing time shrink week after week, despite New York’s dwindling playoff hopes. While the Jets will argue that they brought in the Florida native to serve a complimentary role behind Breece Hall, it was evident that Cook felt he was being under-utilized in Robert Saleh’s system.
Things came to a head following New York’s 37-20 loss to Cleveland this past weekend where Cook was in uniform but didn’t take a single snap on offense. It marked the first time in the 7 year pro’s career where he was effectively a healthy scratch.
In 15 games with New York, Cook saw 67 rushing attempts for 214 yards, 0 TDs, and a paltry 3.2 yards per carry. All these figures represented career lows at the NFL level, including the 2017 season where Cook started only 4 games.
“For any guy that has produced in this league, it’s frustrating,” Cook told members of the press in early December. The former FSU standout was one of the more heavily recruited free agents during the offseason, ultimately signing a $7M contract with the Jets, with $5.8M in guarantees. According to Adam Schefter, Cook will forfeit the remaining guarantees in his contract as a condition of his release.
With 6,207 career rushing yards, and 47 TDs on the ground, it’s highly likely that a contender will be willing to bring on the veteran running back for some added depth ahead of the postseason. One such club could be the Buffalo Bills who were linked to Cook throughout the offseason. Dalvin’s brother James is currently the lead back in Buffalo, making for a mini-family reunion of sorts.
Complicating matters is the depth already in the Bills running back room. A unit that already features the likes of the younger Cook, Latavius Murray, Ty Johnson, Damien Harris, and Leonard Fournette amongst others. That being said, no back has seen more than 30 touches on the season except for Cook and Murray, meaning the club’s commitment to Harris, Johnson, and Fournette is minimal at best.
The Dolphins were also amongst the teams courting Cook in the offseason. With the barrage of injuries Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane have battled throughout the year, having an extra set of legs in South Beach wouldn’t be the worst idea for Mike McDaniel’s squad. And even the AFC leading Baltimore Ravens could be a club interested in bolstering their RB depth.
Baltimore has already lost JK Dobbins and Keaton Mitchell for the season due to injury, and the Florida connections to Lamar Jackson and Zay Flowers (who uses the same agency as Cook) could be enticing as well.
Whatever the outcome, Tuesday marks the end to a rather disappointing chapter in the former Seminoles’ career. Where he goes next should be of interest to any playoff bound team’s fanbase over the next few days.
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