Cowboys Make Final Decision on Dalvin Cook Amid Growing RB Frustration

At this point, the Cowboys would seem to have little to lose by putting running back Dalvin Cook on the field. Every other option in team’s running back room has been decidedly unimpressive so far.

After letting 1,000-yard rusher Tony Pollard walk in the offseason, the team brought back Ezekiel Elliott, who has been a shell of himself as the team’s lead back. No. 2 back Rico Dowdle has been decent, but hardly stellar. Deuce Vaughn, the No. 3, has gotten only nine touches to date, for a measly 34 yards.

At Pro Football Focus , Elliott was rated the No. 44 running back out of 51 through three weeks. Dowdle was 25 ^th . As a team, the Cowboys have 221 rushing yards, which ranks 30 ^th in the NFL.

But there has been a glimmer of hope that maybe—just maybe—Cook could rescue this unit, sooner rather than later. But as Clarence Hill of the Dallas Morning News reports, if Cook is going to pull a Superman act for the Cowboys running back crew, it will have to be later.

During his weekly hit with 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Hill noted, owner and general manager Jerry Jones said that Cook would not suit up in Week 4 against the Giants, which will be this week’s Thursday night matchup.

“Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says RB Dalvin Cook will not play against the Giants Thursday because it’s a short week,” Hill wrote on Twitter/X .

The 29-year-old Cook is a four-time Pro Bowl runner who had four straight seasons of 1,100 yards with the Vikings before he left for the Jets last season. Cook never carved out a role (67 carries, 214 yards) in New York behind starter Breece Hall, and was eventually released.

He was signed by the Ravens for last season’s playoffs, but recorded only 23 yards on eight carries in one game. The Cowboys signed him as a free agent on Aug. 28.