Dalvin Cook Talks Role with Cowboys, Says Ezekiel Elliott, RBs Will ‘Push Each Other’

Julia StumbaughAugust 30, 2024

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Newly-signed Dallas Cowboy Dalvin Cook says it will be an “adjustment” to play with running backs like Ezekiel Elliott after previously serving as the cornerstone of the Minnesota Vikings’ run game.

Cook believes he, Elliott and other Cowboys running backs can use the opportunity to “push each other” to be better, per ESPN’s Todd Archer.

“My years in Minnesota it was Dalvin, Dalvin, Dalvin, give him the ball. Now, just a little adjustment,” Cook said, per Archer. “Help everybody and be productive. That’s just my mindset. I’m going to be ready to go, being around Zeke, I can obviously learn a lot from him. He’s older than me. Just soaking up the game, still. Learning from the young guys, too. Just being a part of this group, I feel like we’re going to push each other.”

Cook signed with the Cowboys as a free agent earlier this week. After splitting last season between the New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens, he is one year removed from his fourth straight Pro Bowl campaign in Minnesota.

Cook rushed for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns in 2022, marking his fourth straight season with a quadruple-digit rushing yards total.

He followed up that campaign by signing a one-year deal with the Jets, where he lost his position as backup to Breece Hall when rookie Israel Abanikanda surpassed him on the team’s depth chart.

After being limited to just 214 rushing yards through 15 games, Cook was waived by the Jets prior to the final game of the 2023 season.

He went on to play a limited role for the Ravens during the playoffs before hitting free agency.

Cook signed with the Cowboys’ practice squad but can be called up to the roster for the team’s Week 1 contest on the road against the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 8 “if needed,” according to ESPN’s Todd Archer.

He will be competing for playing time on a running back depth chart currently led by Elliott and backed up by two players with relatively limited experience in Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn.

Dowdle, who joined the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2020, has seen limited offensive snaps in three NFL seasons. Vaughn, a sixth-round pick in the 2023 draft, made seven appearances in his rookie season but is limited by his height of 5-foot-6.

Elliott is meanwhile returning to Dallas following a one-year, 642 rushing-yard stint with the New England Patriots.

In order to replace the impact of Tony Pollard following his departure to join the Tennessee Titans, the Cowboys will need more production from their feature back. Cook might be hoping to solidify his position on the roster by helping Elliott bounce back this fall.