Dalvin Cook signed with the Jets on Monday, removing one of the top remaining free agents from the board and adding another offensive weapon for Aaron Rodgers in New York.
Cook's inability to immediately find a suitor after a fourth consecutive 1,000-yard, Pro Bowl-caliber season is part of a larger issue regarding running back salaries in the NFL. As such, the money had to be right for the former Vikings running back to sign with New York: Cook received a one-year deal worth up to $8.6 million, hours after the Patriots gave Ezekiel Elliott a one-year deal worth up to $6 million.
Making sure he was properly compensated was doubtlessly important in Cook's signing, but there are other factors that made his move to New York more viable. Among them include salary cap room made available by Rodgers, the Jets' running back depth and more.
With that, The Sporting News breaks down Cook's move to the Jets, and the factors that likely influenced his decision:
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Why did Dalvin Cook sign with Jets?
Aaron Rodgers contract
Part of the reason Cook was able to sign with the Jets is the salary cap room they had available for him. To that end, Cook's move to New York is directly tied to a pay cut Rodgers agreed to take, as reported by NFL.com's Ian Rapoport.
The Jets took on the remainder of Rodgers' contract when they traded for him, which included two years for $110 million. But details emerged that the quarterback had agreed to a restructured two-year, $75 million deal: a $35 million pay cut. That opened up more cap space for the Jets, who entered Monday with $16.3 million in cap space, good for 10th-most in the NFL, per Over The Cap.
The gesture from Rodgers certainly helped the team to land Cook and also suggests a commitment from Rodgers to win what would be only the second Super Bowl of his career in New York.
Super Bowl hopes
The Jets jumped to the fourth-best odds to win Super Bowl 58 — +700 — following Rodgers' move to sign in New York. But the Jets have more than just the four-time NFL MVP to bolster their hopes of lifting the Lombardi Trophy.
The Jets clearly are in "win now" mode, adding Cook to a talented roster that includes the likes of Rodgers, All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and NFL Rookies of the Year in Sauce Gardner (defense) and Garrett Wilson (offense), respectively.
The Jets entered Week 17 of the 2022 season with an outside chance at making the NFL playoffs, but ultimately lost to the Seahawks — and the Dolphins the week after — to end their season with a 7-10 record. This, despite the fact they split games against AFC East rivals Buffalo and Miami.
New York's chances of making the playoffs were dashed by subpar play from former No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson, who finished the season completing 132 of 242 passes (54.5 percent) for 1,688 yards and six touchdowns to seven interceptions.
Making the move from Wilson to Rodgers made New York that much more of a Super Bowl contender — and a more attractive destination Cook, who never advanced further than the NFC championship game in six years with the Vikings.
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Jets' running back depth
Cook is an immediate upgrade to a running back room whose best player (Breece Hall) is currently on the Physically Unable to Perform list. The latter has had that designation all offseason as a result of a torn ACL he suffered in Week 7 of the 2022 season.
The then-rookie had an impressive debut to that point, rushing 80 times for 463 yards (5.8 yards per carry) and four touchdowns. The Jets have expressed optimism that Hall can return in time for the 2023 season opener, but adding Cook to the mix means they won't have to rush his recovery and, presumably, he will be healthier for the latter half of the season.
Cook has already proven capable of carrying the brunt of carries in the NFL, something he did for several seasons in Minnesota: He rushed 1,075 times for 5,024 yards over the last four seasons, good for 4.7 ypc and 43 touchdowns.
The Jets likely will rely on him to be RB1 while Hall works his way back into the rotation — a task that otherwise would have been assigned to third-year back Michael Carter, second-year back Zonovan Knight and rookie Israel Abanikanda.
Why Cook almost signed with Patriots, Dolphins
Cook was most notably tied to two other AFC East teams throughout his free agency: The Patriots and Dolphins.
The latter team was initially the favorite to land the four-time Pro Bowler. The team could use another proven back for Mike McDaniel's run-oriented run game, and Cook is also a Miami native who played for Florida State collegiately. The Miami Herald reported the Dolphins had an offer for Cook, which he refused to accept — something he has since denied happened in a Tuesday appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show."
Another team that showed considerable interest in Cook was New England. According to a report by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the two parties were in talks to set up a visit even as the running back made arrangements to visit the Jets.
Adding Cook would have been big for third-year QB Mac Jones, who regressed in 2022 after what has been described as mismanagement of the offense by Bill Belichick and de facto offensive coordinator Matt Patricia. The Patriots instead put that money toward Elliott, who signed for a bit less than Cook ($6 million to Cook's $8.6 million).
In the end, both the Dolphins and Patriots lost out on the four-time Pro Bowler to their AFC East rival.