The New York Jets are continuing to have a productive offseason in the hopes of ending the current longest playoff drought in North American sports.
The team has signed four-time Pro Bowl selection running back Dalvin Cook to a one-year deal worth up to $8.6 million, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Cook will receive $7 million as a base salary, while he could earn $1.6 million more in incentives.
The 28-year-old spent the first six seasons of his NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings after being drafted by the team in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft with the 41st overall pick.
Cook has made each of the last four Pro Bowl games, establishing himself as one of the best running backs in the league. He ran for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns last season, helping the Vikings make the postseason for the first time since 2019.
Cook was released by the Vikings last June "to make multiple cuts because of the salary cap," as well as failing to find a suitable trade partner for the running back.
Cook was previously linked with his hometown team Miami Dolphins, in the early stages of free agency. He was born and raised in Miami and played college football for Florida State University.
Ultimately, the contract the Jets offered was nearly double the amount the Dolphins had on the table, making the path to the Big Apple too irresistible.
The Jets own the longest playoff drought in all the major professional sports leagues in the United States, last making the postseason in 2010.
The Sacramento Kings previously held the dubious distinction. They were not able to make the NBA playoffs since 2006 until they broke the curse earlier this year to make the postseason for the first time in 17 years.
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A productive offseason for the New York Jets
The Jets became the first team in NFL history to add a QB and RB in the same offseason that has both made four of the last five Pro Bowl games.
The team acquired four-time MVP and future Hall-of-Famer quarterback Aaron Rodgers last April via a trade, which saw his longtime team Green Bay Packers receive four draft picks in exchange.
The Jets also worked out a revised contract for the 39-year-old, in which the Super Bowl XLV MVP took a pay cut to provide financial flexibility for the front office to make more moves in the roster.
New York also renewed the contract of defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, giving him a lucrative four-year, $96 million extension, with $66 million in guaranteed money to stay in the Big Apple.
Williams made the First Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl game last season, putting up a career-high 12 sacks in 2022. The 25-year-old was drafted by the Jets as the third overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft,
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