The Jets are in full-speed-ahead “win now’’ mode, and they doubled down on that mantra Monday by agreeing to contract terms with four-time Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook.
Cook, who’s agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $8.6 million as reported first by the NFL Network, adds experience and star power to a Jets offense that was already massively upgraded by the offseason trade for quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
In the 28-year-old Cook, the Jets are getting a running back whose 6,423 yards from scrimmage in the past four seasons have been eclipsed by only Derrick Henry, but they are also getting a player with a checkered off-the-field record.
Cook is in the middle of litigation with a former girlfriend, who accused him of domestic violence in 2020.
There were reports that he offered her $1 million in hush money to clear him of the claims, according to a document filed in Dakota County District Court and obtained by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
The initial cash offer mandated that Gracelyn Trimble, his accuser, deny the abuse accusation with a sworn affidavit, and the $1 million required that she send the NFL a letter stating that Cook did nothing wrong.
Trimble alleged in a November 2021 suit that Cook abused her, caused a concussion, then held her hostage at his residence in a Minneapolis suburb.
Cook countersued, claiming defamation and fraud.
Cook visited the Jets last month and they obviously felt comfortable enough with his off-field situation to pull the trigger on a player who immediately makes their offense better.
Cooks best two seasons with the Vikings were in 2019 and 2020 when he rushed for 1,135 yards and 13 touchdowns and 1,557 yards and 16 touchdowns, respectively.
His numbers were down the past two seasons, though he still ran for 1,159 yards and six touchdowns in 2021 and 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns last season.
The Jets haven’t had a player rush for 1,000 or more yards since 2015, when they went 10-6. Their record in the seven seasons since 2015 is a combined 34-87.
Cook has rushed for 5,024 yards and 43 touchdowns in the past four seasons.
In those same four seasons, as a team the Jets combined to rush for 5,246 yards and 26 touchdowns, and it has taken 21 different running backs to put up those numbers.
The Jets’ running back stable at the moment appears to be a good one with fresh young legs led by Breece Hall, who had a promising first six games of his rookie season in 2022 before tearing an ACL in Week 7 and missing the rest of the season.
Hall, who rushed for 463 yards and four touchdowns on 80 carries for a 5.8-yard average before he was injured, has not yet returned to practice this training camp, though Jets coach Robert Saleh has repeatedly said his recovery has been speedy.
Michael Carter, whose production dipped in 2022 after a solid rookie season, is not the kind of dynamic every-down back. He rushed for 402 yards and three TDs with a 3.5-yard average last season after gaining 639 yards and four TDs with a 4.3-yard average his rookie year.
Zonovan Knight ran for 300 yards and a 3.5-yard average last season.
Rookie draft pick Isreal Abanikanda, a Brooklyn native, has had a strong training camp and preseason.
Still, none of those backs have the experience or production of Cook, whose presence immediately adds to the Jets’ cachet as an AFC contender in 2023.
Cook, who had off offseason shoulder surgery, isn’t expected to practice immediately upon joining the Jets, according to reports. It is believed he’ll be ready to play by the start of the season.
When he is ready to play, he joins a Jets offense that has added Rodgers, former Packers receivers Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb and former Chiefs receiver Mecole Hardman at the skill positions. Cook, too, will also be reunited with former Vikings teammate Tyler Conklin, the Jets’ top tight end.
Cook, who was released by the Vikings in June reportedly for contractual reasons, visited the Jets in July after telling the NFL Network that the odds were “pretty high” he would sign with the Jets.
As a South Florida native, he also was courting the Dolphins.
“He’s been a dynamic ball carrier for a long time,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said of Cook after his visit. “You can’t say no to a good football player. They usually find a way.”
On Monday, the Jets and Cook found a way.