Cowboys' Updated Depth Chart, Salary Cap After Dalvin Cook Contract

The Dallas Cowboys added a big name to their running back room Wednesday in the form of Dalvin Cook.

According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Cook's representation, LAA, announced Wednesday that he signed with the Cowboys. ESPN's Todd Archer added that Cook will begin on Dallas' practice squad rather than the active roster.

With the Cowboys having already cut their roster down to 53 players, their current running back depth chart is as follows:

1. Ezekiel Elliott
2. Rico Dowdle
3. Deuce Vaughn
4. Dalvin Cook

---

Before factoring in Cook's deal, OverTheCap.com listed the Cowboys as having $21.076 million in salary cap space, which is 15th-most in the NFL.

It wasn't long ago that the 29-year-old Cook was widely regarded as one of the top running backs in the NFL during his time with the Minnesota Vikings.

The 2017 second-round draft pick out of Florida State was named a Pro Bowler in for consecutive seasons from 2019 to 2022, rushing for at least 1,100 yards and scoring at least nine total touchdowns in each of those years.

Overall, Cook appeared in 73 regular-season games for the Vikings during his six-year stint in Minnesota, rushing for 5,993 yards and 47 touchdowns, while also catching 221 passes for 1,794 yards and five scores.

Minnesota released Cook prior to the 2023 season in a cost-cutting move, and he signed with the New York Jets with the expectation that he could play a sizable role while Breece Hall worked his way back from a torn ACL.

However, Cook was essentially a nonfactor for the Jets, rushing for just 214 yards on 67 carries with no touchdowns to go along with 15 catches for 78 receiving yards.

New York cut Cook late in the season and he signed with the Baltimore Ravens. He did not appear in a regular-season game for Baltimore, but he rushed eight times for 23 yards in one playoff game.

Cook's performance last season suggests it isn't likely he will be much of a difference maker, but the Cowboys perhaps present the best opportunity for him to make some type of impact.

After allowing Tony Pollard to sign with the Tennessee Titans in free agency, the only move of significance Dallas made at running back was bringing back Ezekiel Elliott, who the organization released one year earlier.

Elliott was a stud over his first four NFL seasons, earning three Pro Bowl nods and one First Team All-Pro selection, while averaging 1,351 rushing yards per season and scoring 48 total touchdowns during that time.

Elliott lost much of his explosiveness over the next three seasons, though, and he averaged 952 rushing yards per season over that stretch before getting cut.

He rushed for 642 yards and three touchdowns, and caught 51 passes for 313 yards and two scores for the New England Patriots last season, but averaged a career-low 3.5 yards per carry.

Beyond Elliott, the Cowboys' running back options are Rico Dowdle, who has 385 career rushing yards since 2020, and Deuce Vaughn, who likely can't be a feature back at 5'6".

The odds may still be long for Cook to revive his career, but the competition isn't particularly fierce in Dallas' backfield.