James White Would Be Surprised If Patriots Sign Dalvin Cook Unless Stevenson Injured

Dalvin Cook is a four-time Pro Bowler who could give the New England Patriots a boost in a difficult AFC East, but one of the team's former running backs doesn't think he will end up on Bill Belichick's roster.

Former Patriots running back James White told Mike Reiss of ESPN he would be surprised if New England signed Cook unless presumed starter Rhamondre Stevenson suffered an injury.

Despite those thoughts, the Patriots could use the depth after Damien Harris signed with the Buffalo Bills and James Robinson was released.

Yet White thinks Ty Montgomery, J.J. Taylor, Pierre Strong Jr. and Kevin Harris could carve out significant roles with impressive showings at training camp. The Patriots have a handful of options behind Stevenson, although none of them have the resume to match Cook's.

The former Minnesota Vikings playmaker surpassed 1,100 rushing yards in each of the last four seasons, but the NFC North team moved on from him this offseason. He remains a free agent at this point, and ESPN's Jeremy Fowler previously reported he might wait until mid-July to sign somewhere.

To hear White tell it, the Patriots are an unlikely destination when he does make that decision.