Dallas Cowboys sign former Pro Bowler Dalvin Cook: What you should know
The Dallas Cowboys has agreed to sign running back Dalvin Cook to his practice squad, the four-time Pro Bowler confirmed in a repost on social media on Wednesday.
Players from the practice squad can be elevated to the active roster and play three games without being counted against the team’s 53-man roster, so Cook offers an opportunity to bolster the Cowboys’ backfield. He joins fellow veteran Ezekiel Elliott and younger running backs Deuce Vaughn and Rico Dowdle in Dallas.
Cook has rushed for 6,207 yards and 47 touchdowns on 1,349 carries in multiple NFL seasons. He played for the Vikings from 2017-2022, including five years under head coach Mike Zimmer, who is now the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator.
Last season, Cook, 29, joined the New York Jets as a free agent and averaged a career-low 3.2 yards per carry, marking the third consecutive season of statistical decline. The Jets released Cook before the final week of the season and the Baltimore Ravens snapped him up.
Cook gained 23 yards on eight carries for Baltimore in a playoff win over the Texans, but did not play in the Ravens’ loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
He spent the offseason as a free agent and worked out for the Cowboys on Tuesday before agreeing to a contract.
NFL teams will begin building their practice squads in earnest starting at 11 a.m. CDT Wednesday — that’s when the waiver period ends and unclaimed players become free agents. Teams must submit their practice squad rosters by 3 p.m. to keep the process moving quickly.
Other running backs the Cowboys might consider for the practice squad include training camp participants Malik Davis, Royce Freeman and Snoop Conner.