Cowboys sign Dalvin Cook: Dallas adds veteran RB to team with Ezekiel Elliott

When 2023 NFL interception leader and All-Pro cornerback Darren Bland went down with a stress fracture in his leg, Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said he It was “not at all” Interested in seeing outside help on the corner.

That certainly wasn’t the case at the running back position. After signing 2023 First Team All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb gets four-year, $136 million extension With $100 million guaranteed, Jones made another big move on Wednesday, signing four-time Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook, his agency told NFL Media. According to longtime NFL insider Josina Anderson, Cook practiced for Dallas on Tuesday. ESPN is reporting that Cook will initially join the practice squad.

Cook played his first five seasons (2017-2021) under the Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who was then the coach of the Minnesota Vikings. 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.

In 2023, Cook played 15 games with the New York Jets, but he only put up 214 rushing yards on 67 carries (3.2 yards per carry, the lowest total of his career) while taking handoffs from a rotation of quarterbacks that wasn’t Aaron Rodgers. He finished the year with the Baltimore Ravens and totaled 23 rushing yards on eight carries against the Houston Texans in the 2023 AFC Divisional Round. He’s now 29, just a few weeks younger than Ezekiel Elliott.

Since 2019, Cook has the fourth-most rushing yards (5,238), is 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 are fourth in Vikings history.

According to NFL Media, Cook reportedly spent the majority of the 2024 offseason recovering from shoulder surgery and is “feeling the best he’s been in years.” With Cook out, it will be interesting to see how many running backs the Cowboys keep 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.