Dalvin Cook was not at Jets camp Tuesday, but on this rare August day when the Jets could celebrate good news — traditionally a rarity for the Jets in August — the newly added running back hovered over the proceedings.
Said Michael Carter: “It’s nuts. … You can’t even get this good on ‘Madden.’ ”
Said coach Robert Saleh: “As a defensive coach, I just sit there and say, ‘God.’ ”
Said Breece Hall: “It’s gonna be fun.”
Cook will not arrive for at least a week as he prepares for the birth of a child, but Monday night’s agreement on a one-year deal worth up to a reported $8.6 million did further cement positive vibes for an organization still coming to grips with feeling positive vibes at all.
To be sure, there are still questions swirling about how roles will shake out among Cook, Hall, Carter and Zonovan Knight — the latter two no longer assured of roster spots with rookie Israel Abanikanda also in the mix.
There are also lingering injuries for Cook (shoulder) and Hall (knee) to navigate, and Saleh could not say when Cook will show up in Florham Park.
Cook, though, has rushed for more than 1,000 yards four times, earning Pro Bowl nods in each of those years and averaging 4.7 yards per carry over six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.
Undeniably, he adds to the Jets’ chances of a Super Bowl, and that is what the organization is putting first — ahead of the allegations regarding his personal conduct.
Saleh brushed aside concerns about domestic violence allegations that have surrounded Cook, with court documents showing a $1 million hush-money offer to a former girlfriend who alleged that the running back abused her, gave her a concussion and held her hostage at his residence.
“For him, I’m not gonna go into the detail,” Saleh said. “Obviously the conversations we had and the depth at which we researched everything, I think we all came to an agreement that we were comfortable with the person and his situation.”
That was the only public-facing attempt to come to terms with Cook’s personal virtues the organization offered, as the Jets instead extolled what he can do on the field and how he will add to an already-packed running backs room and an offense that has been rebuilt around Aaron Rodgers.
“There’s a lot of things you can do to create. It’s a bunch of headaches for defensive coaches,” Saleh said. “He’s not a trick back, either. You can turn around, hand him the ball and he can run downhill. He’s done it for a long time. I look at it like our D-line. You can never have enough.”
Even Carter, whose place on the 53-man roster comes into question as a result of the signing, had to concede to Cook’s talent.
“It’s nuts,” he said. “I can’t believe I’m in a room like this. … I was told by [Saleh] that this doesn’t change anything for me. But it might.”
Carter, who got — and lost — a turn as the Jets’ lead back last year after Hall’s injury, said that last year, he might have begged off talking to reporters in the wake of something like this.
Tuesday, he instead shrugged off questions about Cook’s impact on his own job security.
“I don’t worry about s–t,” he said. “At this point, I can’t worry about that. Honestly, because then if I’m worrying about that, I’m out here on the field and I’m not getting better.”
Indeed, if there are worries in the running back room around diminished roles, that did not seep out publicly Tuesday.
“It’s gonna bring the best out of everybody,” Hall said.
Tight end Tyler Conklin, who played with Cook in Minnesota, said he has yet to speak with him. But like everyone else who spoke publicly, he could only express excitement about an offense that added yet another high-level talent.
“Everybody does so many things really well. Mecole [Hardman] being as fast as Mecole is. Allen [Lazard] being such a sure receiver. Corey [Davis], Dalvin, Breece, it’s just so much talent,” Conklin said, not even mentioning reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson. “I’m excited to get into the regular season and see how it all unfolds.”
