That Was Fast. Dalvin Cook Has New NFL Home.
Dalvin Cook was on the NFL free-agent market for a few minutes.
According to sources, that’s all it took for the veteran runner to land with the Baltimore Ravens.
That Was Fast. Dalvin Cook Has New NFL Home.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted Thursday afternoon, “Four-time Pro Bowl RB Dalvin Cook will sign for the playoffs with the Baltimore Ravens; per his agency LAA Sports Ent. The Jets paid Cook $6.8 million this season and now he will get a chance to pursue a Super Bowl appearance with the Ravens.”
The Ravens, owners of the AFC’s No. 1 seed, will now benefit from added running back depth when its playoff begins on the weekend of January 20th.
The New York Jets and Cook agreed to part ways on Tuesday, about five months after inking a summer deal — back when the Jets were true-blue Super Bowl contenders. But soon after the regular season kicked off, Cook wasn’t quite the same playmaker from 2020 or 2021, and New York quickly granted a large carry load to Breece Hall, not Cook.
Then, Cook cleared waivers this week, hung out for a few minutes, and will evidently join the Super Bowl-contending Ravens.
Behind the San Francisco 49ers, the Ravens are favored to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in February, and Cook will provide trustworthy depth. John Harbaugh’s team has endured oodles of injury at running back. They lost J.K. Dobbins and Keaton Mitchell this year to season-ending injuries, so in the postseason, the more RB depth, the better.
This is Baltimore’s current RB corps:
- Gus Edwards
- Justice Hill
- Melvin Gordon
- Dalvin Cook
Meanwhile, quarterback Lamar Jackson assuredly is not a running back, but his statsheet production often fills the void of a halfback because he’s that damn good. Adding Cook merely hedges the bet against more injuries and inserts a homerun hitter into the lineup.
Cook exited the Vikings organization as the franchise’s third-leading rusher in franchise history (5,993 yards) behind Adrian Peterson (11,747) and Robert Smith (6,818). His 47 rushing touchdowns rank fourth behind Peterson (97), Chuck Foreman (52), and Bill Brown (52). And his rushing yards per game (82.1) are second, only trailing Peterson (95.5).
The Vikings released Cook last June because he was in line for a $14 million cap hit in 2023 — too much for a running back and for one that proved in New York that his Pro Bowl days were over.
In Baltimore, Cook won’t have to serve as a bellcow RB1. Edwards, Hill, and Gordon are available for touches. Cook is the cake-topper.
The Ravens also employ former Vikings wide receiver Laquon Treadwell. Baltimore ranks tops in the NFL per rushing DVOA.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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