Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
11 players have worn No. 4 in a game for the Vikings, including RB Dalvin Cook.
The Minnesota Vikings will kick off their 2023 regular season in 4 days at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 10.
From now until then, we will take a trip down memory lane and count each day by revisiting the players who have worn that specific jersey number.
Dalvin Cook last wore No. 4 for the Minnesota Vikings.
With 4 days until kickoff, here’s a look at every player to wear No. 4 in a regular season game with the Vikings (via Pro Football Reference):
Robert Saleh indicated that the Jets won’t have snap counts for Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook in Week 1 vs. the Bills.
The New York Jets will square off against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in Week 1, and they’ll have both of their star running backs available. Robert Saleh mentioned on Monday that the Jets won’t have snap counts on Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook in Week 1.
Breece Hall won't practice today, per Saleh, who calls it a planned rest day. Hall is expected to play, as is Cook. They won't be on a snap count, per se, but Saleh says they will be prudent with their usage. #Jets
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) September 4, 2023
While the Jets won’t have a set amount of snaps that Hall and Cook will receive, Saleh made it clear they’ll be smart about the usage each back gets. Hall is returning from a season-ending knee injury from a season ago and Cook underwent shoulder surgery earlier this offseason before signing with New York.
With Cook recently making his debut in practice with the Jets, both he and Hall have been practicing together ahead of the season opener. Even though Hall will miss Monday’s practice due to a planned rest day, there don’t appear to be any concerns about his status for Week 1.
It remains to be seen how the Jets end up divvying up the touches among Hall and Cook in Week 1, but both backs are expected to be a full-go to begin the season.
Dalvin Cook is practicing for the first time since signing with the Jets earlier this month.
Fans of the New York Jets have been anxiously waiting to see Dalvin Cook take the field with his new team and the wait is finally over. With less than two weeks until the Jets face the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in Week 1, Cook is practicing with the team for the first time on Tuesday.
After signing two weeks ago, Jets RB Dalvin Cook is practicing today for the first time this summer. Cook recently became a first-time father, was spending time with Dalvin Jr., and is now ready to gear up for the Monday night opener vs. the Bills and his younger brother James.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 29, 2023
Nearly two weeks ago, the Jets signed Cook in hopes he could form a dynamic one-two punch with Breece Hall. Hall is coming off a season-ending knee injury as a rookie in 2022, but the second-year back has been practicing in recent weeks.
Besides undergoing shoulder surgery this offseason, Cook recently had his first child born, so he’s been unable to practice since joining New York. The veteran back has produced four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons ahead of his seventh year in the NFL.
It remains to be seen what the Jets’ offense looks like when Cook and Hall are both available. But if both of them are healthy, they both figure to have large roles in an offense that is expected to take a massive leap with Aaron Rodgers under center.
Dalvin Cook thinks the Jets and their running back group can be something big.
New Jets running back Dalvin Cook is officially in the mix and it feels like a match made in heaven. What felt like the league’s worst-kept secret over the last few weeks finally came to fruition this week as the Jets signed the former Viking to a one-year deal with up to $8.6 million. Both Cook and the Jets seemed very interested in making a connection. They are now linked up and it could be a great one.
Even Cook himself feels this team has the makings of something big and that started from the time he initially visited New York on July 30.
“I think collectively, when I came on my visit, I pretty much seen everything that I needed to see,” Cook said, via Antwan Staley of the New York Daily News. “It was a good vibe with the coaches, the players, everybody around the building.”
Cook also feels he’s joining a great running back room and will only help the group improve.
“Obviously, when you dig deep and look at the roster, I think all of the pieces are put together. I think I can come help these guys,” Cook said. “If you look at the running back room with MC [Michael Carter], Breece [Hall] Bam [Zonovan Knight] and all of those guys and me just adding into it, I think it can be something special.”
The other running backs have to feel the same way now that they are getting a running back that has rushed for 1,000 yards and been a Pro Bowl selection four straight seasons. And with Hall back on the practice field, the chance to see that potential special group can start sooner rather than later.
Dalvin Cook is with the Jets and rocking his new old number.
Dalvin Cook is officially a New York Jet and he has a new number – which is also an old number for him. He will wear No. 33 for the Jets, the number he wore for his first five seasons in Minnesota before switching to No. 4 last season; he wore No. 4 at Florida State.
Obviously, he couldn’t wear No. 4 for the Jets because that number is already taken by cornerback D.J. Reed. With the Jets releasing running back Damarea Crockett, No. 33 became available so Cook made an easy transition with his jersey number for the Jets.
— DC33 (@dalvincook) August 17, 2023
Cook is practicing in a limited capacity to start off. But it is official and real. No. 33 for the New York Jets, running back Dalvin Cook. Start getting used to it.
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There is going to be a Cook-off in the AFC East at least twice in 2023.
While there was a brief report that said Dalvin Cook, released by the Minnesota Vikings earlier this offseason, would have interest in signing with the Buffalo Bills… the near opposite happened. Instead, the Pro Bowl rusher has signed with the New York Jets. Per Jets Wire, Cook inked a one-year deal worth up to $8.6 million with the New York Jets.
Once the news dropped, James Cook chimed in.
Looking likely as the Bills’ starting rushing back on opening day in a few short weeks, James Cook gave a quick but clear comment about the news relating to his brother. Taking to his social media account on Twitter (or X), James Cook re-posted an image of his brother with the Jets and tagged him in it.
James Cook’s message? “Four weeks,” which indicates the length of time until the Bills and Jets faceoff in Week 1.
His message can be found below:
4️⃣ weeks 👀 @dalvincook https://t.co/qFn4sAfF2h
— James Cook (@thegreat__4) August 15, 2023
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Are the Patriots being too cheap? Colin Cowherd thinks so.
Reactions are pouring in with the New England Patriots signing running back Ezekiel Elliott on Monday. Many of the reactions so far have been positive, including one from Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum.
Others that have weighed in, however, have not been as impressed.
That includes FS1’s Colin Cowherd. When giving his thoughts on the recent signing, he accused Bill Belichick and New England of being cheap.
It’s worth noting that Cowherd has been critical of the Patriots over the past couple weeks. At the same time, it can’t be ignored that the Patriots are generally stingy when it comes to spending on the offensive side of the football. The talk show host elaborated on his point Tuesday.
“The Patriots could have had Davin Cook,” said Cowherd. “Instead, it was about value. It’s always about value for Belichick. Nice stuff costs money. …Zeke is cheaper for a reason. The Patriots are 29th in the NFL in offensive spending. Zeke Elliott, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Devante Parker, you get what you pay for.”
"The Jets paid a little more and got more. The Patriots continue to seek value and bring coupons on offensive pieces."
— @ColinCowherd on New England settling for Ezekiel Elliott pic.twitter.com/NrrSIOJtz6
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) August 15, 2023
While this may be a fair stance, it seems like a rather opportunistic take for Cowherd. Time will tell as to how Elliott will perform on the field for the Patriots.
If there is one certainty, it’s that the combination of Elliott and Cook will make for some fun storylines within the AFC East division.
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A little “Get to know you” on Dalvin Cook.
The New York Jets have themselves a new running back and a good one at that, as they agreed Monday to sign former Vikings running back Dalvin Cook. It’s not often a team can land a impactful free agent in the middle of August but the Jets were able to do just that. Let’s get to know Cook a little bit as he gets set to join his new team.
The Jets have signed Dalvin Cook, so how does that affect Breece Hall’s outlook in fantasy football this season?
The New York Jets have officially agreed to terms with Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook, signing him to a one-year deal worth up to $8.6 million. Cook was the biggest name available in the running back market, leading some to believe that his arrival alters Breece Hall’s outlook in fantasy football for the 2023 season.
Before we dive into what Hall’s outlook looks like with Cook in the backfield. we need to discuss what he did in his rookie season in 2022 and where he’s at in his recovery from a season-ending knee injury.
Dalvin Cook makes the running back room very intriguing.
Dalvin Cook is coming to New York. The league’s worst-kept secret finally came to fruition Monday when reports came out that the team had agreed to sign the former Vikings running back to a one-year deal.
So a question now is how is the depth chart affected going forward with Cook now in the mix? One way to answer that is by looking at Cook and Breece Hall as 1A and 1B in any particular order, especially now that Hall is off the physically unable to perform list and can practice again.
The Jets had wanted to ease Hall back into action coming off his ACL injury in October and the Cook interest and eventual signing helped reiterate that point. But now that Hall is able to practice, that is all the better news for the Jets to start using their new 1-2 punch.
So what about the rest of the running back room? You can argue Zonovan Knight has had a better summer and preseason thus far than Michael Carter. Similar to Hall and Cook, perhaps Carter and Knight could be considered 2A and 2B (or 3A and 3B depending on how you define it).
Both still seem in line to make the 53, but maybe it’s not as much of a guarantee as it was before the weekend.
Then there’s rookie Israel Abanikanda, who has shown flashes through the first two preseason games and is becoming a tough cut for the Jets. If they cut him, he’s going to get scooped up by another team. He’s likely still behind the top four, but as referenced before, maybe we can’t rule out the possibility that the team cuts either Carter or Knight — Carter would probably be more likely to get cut than Knight.
We also can’t forget about fullback Nick Bawden, who has been involved often in camp and has been penciled in on many projected rosters. The Jets like what they see out of the fullback and can use him in multiple ways. If anything, Bawden would be among the last players in or out when final cuts come around.
So we could be looking at something like this as the depth chart:
1A. Dalvin Cook
1B. Breece Hall
2A. Michael Carter
2B. Zonovan Knight
3. Israel Abanikanda
FB: Nick Bawden
A player, too, like Travis Dye would also make a good practice squad candidate for the Jets. He had some good work against the Panthers on Saturday.
On paper, the Jets look to have a crowded running back room, but that is meant in a good way. They could have some awfully tough decisions to make in the next few weeks.
