Fantasy Alert: Jets 'Will Be Smart' with Breece Hall Alongside Dalvin Cook vs. Bills

New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh told reporters on Monday that both Dalvin Cook and Breece Hall would play in the season-opener against the Buffalo Bills next week on Monday Night Football, but the team would "be smart" with Hall as he returns from a torn ACL.

The second-year running back didn't practice on Monday, though Saleh said it was a maintenance day.

Saleh continued:

"I don't know if I want to call it a snap count, but we are gonna be smart with them. We'll continue to evaluate and build up what we think Monday needs to be, but it's not that we're putting a snap count on it. It's just they're two really good football players; Michael Carter's a really good football player, and just trying to find a way to feature all of them, along with the receivers and tight ends that we have. So there's gonna be enough to go around."

Hall, 22, rushed for 463 yards and four touchdowns and caught 19 passes for 218 yards and another score in what was shaping up to be an impressive rookie season before tearing his ACL in Week 7, ending his 2022 campaign.

That left the timing of his return for the 2023 season in some question, though it appears he'll be ready for the opener, at least in some capacity.

The next question is how the workload will be dispersed between Hall and Cook. The 28-year-old is a four-time Pro Bowler, and the Jets aren't paying him $7 million this year to serve as a backup.

"It will be great for competition, and it's going to bring out the best in everybody," Hall told reporters regarding Cook's addition. "It's going to be fun."

That means the pair will operate as some sort of platoon, with Cook expected to carry the heavier workload earlier in the season as Hall is eased back into the swing of things. How the snaps and touches will be split between the pair later in the season, however, remains to be seen.