The Dallas Cowboys have been in the market for reinforcements leading up to the NFL Playoffs. They might now be adding one of the biggest names available in free agency with one week to go in the regular season.
Josina Anderson of CBS Sports reports that Dallas joins the Baltimore Ravens in evaluating whether to sign four-time Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook after he was released by the New York Jets earlier in the week.
Cook, 28, was granted his release by New York after falling to No. 3 on the team’s depth chart. The idea is to help him potentially latch on with a playoff team heading into the postseason.
As for what the Cowboys are saying, head coach Mike McCarthy had some interesting words about Cook in talking with media on Wednesday.
“Those are questions you are always visiting with and so forth. Obviously I have a tremendous amount of respect for him, played a number of games against [him] when Dalvin was in Minnesota. I have great respect for him,” Dallas Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy on Dalvin Cook.
Related: Ideal Dalvin Cook landing spots
We mentioned the Cowboys as a potential landing spot (link above) following Cook’s release. In a lot of ways, it makes a lot of sense.
Dallas Cowboys could use depth at running back for NFL Playoffs
Dallas just recently placed rookie Deuce Vaughn on season-ending injured reserve. Fellow backup Rico Dowdle is dealing with an ankle injury. While he’s likely to go Week 18 against the Washington Commanders, there are some major depth issues at running back in Big D.
None of this takes into account the inconsistency RB1 Tony Pollard has shown for a Cowboys rushing attack that ranks a pedestrian 14th on the season.
Related: Dallas Cowboys standing in Sportsnaut’s NFL power rankings
Pollard has yet to put up 1,000 rushing yards on the season despite running the ball 235 times in 16 games. He’s failed to hit as much as 70 yards in each of the past five games, averaging just 3.6 rushing yards during that span. Pollard knows all too well that he has not lived up to expectations.
“I thought I would probably have a better year than I am now,” Pollard told reporters on Wednesday.
As for Cook, it just never worked out with the Jets after a brilliant run with the Minnesota Vikings. He gained a mere 214 rushing yards at a clip of 3.2 yards per rush in 15 games. This came after a four-year span with the Vikings in which he averaged north of 1,600 total yards and 12 touchdowns en route to making the Pro Bowl each season.
It could make sense for Dallas to take a chance on Cook and see what he might be able to provide.