FRISCO, TX — The time for patience and ramping up is now over for Dalvin Cook. The veteran running back was initially signed to the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad just ahead of the 2024 regular season, but has since been relegated exclusively to the 17-man unit over the first six games — ready to make his debut for Mike McCarthy against the San Francisco 49ers.
Cook has officially been elevated from the practice squad for the first time this season, and will be looked upon to inject some electricity into a rushing attack that, as a whole, has struggled to get going. Whispers around the building this week were that Cook garnered quite a bit of first-team reps, an indication he'd get his shot in San Francisco.
He'll meet a 49ers' defensive front that usually excels at stopping the run.
In the spring, McCarthy took the podium at The Star in Frisco and admitted the Cowboys' rushing attack, in 2023, left plenty to be desired. The team went on to reunite with Ezekiel Elliott and then added Cook to the mix, two veterans with skins on the wall in the NFL.
The two combine for a total of seven Pro Bowls.
Elliott started things off as the lead back in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns, but hasn't gotten much traction since that contest. That statement is exponentially more true for Deuce Vaughn, who earned a spot on the 53-man roster but has now found himself on the weekly inactives list as Hunter Luepke begins to show he can impact games.
Rico Dowdle is having the best showing of the group, sans Cook, but also not consistently, though for a variety of reasons (e.g., blocking, scoreboard consequences, etc.).
Enter Cook, and with plenty of pressure on his shoulders.
Cook turned 29 years of age on Aug. 10, and there are many outside of the building wondering if he's still got the juice that made him arguably the best running back in the league for Mike Zimmer and the Minnesota Vikings.
"I got it," he said in late August. "It's right here."
It's time to show and prove, after nearly two months of grinding behind the curtain.
"Just keep your head down, no matter what," Cook said. "No matter the circumstance, you still have to work hard, because I stuck to my routine throughout the season and then when I got to Baltimore, I was ready to go. I was ready to get the ball however times they needed me to, but it's just unfortunate that I didn't get it that much, but I was ready to go."
Proving others wrong is no longer his motivation, though.
As he puts it, it's all about proving to his son what's possible in this world, and that's it.
A large part of the reason for Cook's move to Dallas wasn't simply in the preexisting interest he held in 2023, but also due to the fact the new defensive coordinator happens to be Zimmer — the two having spent several seasons together in Minnesota.
Cook thrived under Zimmer and their personal relationship has remained bulletproof following Zimmer's departure from the Vikings in 2022. So when Cook saw news that Zimmer was returning to the Cowboys, kismet was found.
"I got the big eyes," said Cook. "I did, man. I think the world of coach Zim."
The delivery of that reply told the full story of what Zimmer means to him, a pause and heartfelt exhale preceding the words, and it sounds as if there's nowhere Cook wouldn't follow his former Vikings' head coach.
There's a theme to that sentiment, seeing as Cook was also reunited with defensive tackle Linval Joseph and linebacker Eric Kendricks, both of whom also dominated for Zimmer during their time in Minneapolis.
Cook is looking to do the same for McCarthy, and to prove the event horizon — the narrative that running backs fall off of a cliff at the age of 30 or near it — doesn't apply to him.
"What I can tell you, man: in this league, running backs, we take our bodies through so much," Cook said. "But it's a point where you've got to know, alright, I'm getting up to a certain age, I've got to start upping the stuff off the field. As for me, I just picked up a certain routine and I just ran with it.
"I just feel like it's got me to this point where I'm healthy and ready to go. So just stick to a routine. No matter the age, man. If you've got it, go get it. That's my mindset."
With so much on the line going forward for the Cowboys and their offense, Dalvin will have no choice but to Cook.
Though the same is true of every single person wearing one of Dallas' uniforms.
