Cowboys Working Out Pro Bowl RB Dalvin Cook: Report

The Dallas Cowboys are reportedly flying out running back Dalvin Cook Monday night to visit with the team, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Cook remains with a free agent after spending the 2023 season with the New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens. Cook signed with the Jets on a one-year deal last August, where he primarily came in as a backup to Breece Hall as he started just one of the 15 games he played in.

With the Jets, Cook rushed for just 214 yards on 67 carries for an average of 3.2 yards per carry, all career-low numbers for Cook. The Jets and Cook agreed to part ways after the season in January, and Cook signed shortly after with the Baltimore Ravens. He appeared in the Ravens’ postseason win against the Houston Texans, recording eight carries for 23 yards.

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Prior to the 2023 season, Cook was one of the NFL’s best running backs while on the Minnesota Vikings. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in four consecutive seasons from 2019-22, including a 1,557-yard and 16 touchdown season in 2021. Cook was named to the Pro Bowl in each of those seasons.

Cook played through a dislocated shoulder through the majority of the 2022 season and was released by the Vikings the following June because he would not take a pay cut. He was rehabbing from his shoulder surgery last offseason but has been able to work out fully this offseason.

The Cowboys do not have a clear answer at the running back position for this season after they let Tony Pollard walk in the offseason. Pollard, who rushed for over 1,000 yards over the last two seasons with the Cowboys, signed a three-year deal with the Tennessee Titans this offseason.

Dallas signed Ezekiel Elliott in April to bring back their former All-Pro running back, but Elliott is far removed from the player that led the NFL in rushing in two of his first three NFL seasons. Elliott carried the ball 184 times for 642 yards and three touchdowns at an average of 3.5 yards per carry in 2023, all career-lows.

The Cowboys additionally have options in Rico Dowdle and Royce Freeman, but neither has held a starting running back role or rushed for over 400 yards in a single season. Dallas has often relied on success in the run game over the last decade from backs including Pollard, Elliott, and DeMarco Murray, but is currently lacking that kind of player in the backfield.

While Cook is coming off far from his best season, he is less than two years removed from his last 1,000-yard season, and could at the very least give the team another option at the position.