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Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Recently signed running back Dalvin Cook is anxious to find out his role in the New York Jets’ offense. Whatever it is, he expects to form a dynamic tandem with Breece Hall.
“The talent that Breece has — the young talent he has — we’re going to be something special together,” Cook said Tuesday.
Cook practiced for the first time since finalizing a one-year, $7 million contract on Aug. 14, declaring afterward that he did “everything” in practice and will be ready for the season opener against the Buffalo Bills on “Monday Night Football.”
It took so long to get on the field because he returned to South Florida for the birth of his first child. He also was held back because of his left shoulder, which was surgically repaired in February. The Jets wanted to give him extra time before putting him in team drills.
One of the big questions surrounding the Jets is how they will deploy Cook and Hall, who is 10 months removed from ACL surgery.
“I don’t know. I’m kind of excited to see,” Cook said. “I’ve got a great skill set. I come with a unique skill set. I can catch the ball out of the backfield, and I can be explosive in any position on the offense. I’m just looking forward to how they use me.”
Hall returned to practice two weeks ago but didn’t play in the preseason. He hasn’t played a game since last Oct. 23, when he suffered his season-ending knee injury against the Denver Broncos. The current plan is to play him in the opener, but the Jets will be cautious.
“We’ve never been worried about his availability; we just have to be smart,” coach Robert Saleh said. “The excitement is, ‘Well, let’s just throw him out there,’ but we need to be smart, we need to be diligent. I think in his mind, he probably feels like he can take 30 touches, but we just have to be smart with him, make sure we’re constantly communicating with him and just being diligent.”
Cook, released by the Minnesota Vikings in June after four straight Pro Bowl seasons, said he couldn’t speculate on his potential workload for the opener even though he believes he’s in excellent shape.
“You never know until you go out there and go it,” he said. “I think once you’re out there, everything goes out the window. It’s kind of like, ‘Let’s play ball.’ The conditioning part is going to take care of itself. Other than that, I’ve been working my tail off. I’m ready to go play.”
Saleh said he feels comfortable with Cook, Hall and Michael Carter at running back. They also have rookie Israel Abanikanda.
Cook is a high-volume back — he averaged 19 carries per game over the last four seasons — so it will be interesting to see how he handles a reduced role. He said he’s willing to sacrifice personal stats for a shot at a championship, one of the reasons he chose the Jets.
“I feel like we’ve got one of the best [defenses] in the league,” he said. “I feel like when you have a great defense, you get the opportunities on offense to do something special. You look around at the guys we have here. I feel like we’ll be able to do something, something special.”
With Cook and left tackle Duane Brown returning to practice, the starting offense [and top backups] worked together for the first time. That includes Mekhi Becton, who was named the starting right tackle after long comeback from two knee surgeries. Saleh made the announcement Saturday night after the final preseason game.
“It was pretty cool,” Becton said. “It was a great moment, for sure, for me for all the work I put in these past two years. It was definitely great.”