Dalvin Cook doubles down on Josh Jacobs’ plan for league-wide RB holdout 

Dalvin Cook is one of many running backs struggling to get the contracts they believe they deserve during the 2023 NFL offseason.

A recent trend has emerged among NFL teams as most no longer seem willing to offer backs long-term deals with guaranteed money. This leaves stars like Cook stuck in free agency and others in the dreaded franchise tag situation.

Of the three running backs who received a franchise tag from their teams, just Josh Jacobs remains without a contract for the 2023 NFL season. He has consistently refused to sign his tender with the Las Vegas Raiders, threatening to sit out all year. His holdout is because he believes that he, along with many other running backs, is being treated unfairly in negotiations.

Jacobs recently suggested to his fellow running backs that they all must stand together against this recent trend, allegedly even suggesting that more of them hold out like he is.

Dalvin Cook recently backed him up during an interview on Good Morning Football, supporting his idea to help the present and future state of the position.

Here's what Dalvin Cook had to say:

"You want to hand a running back the ball 300 times a year, 400 times, if you a special guy? And you know, after the season, they kind of put you in the category of being 'worn down.' Yeah, and they don't want to give you the money, and then there's a situation like with Saquon. And then you go back to a situation where J.K. Dobbins, he's productive, but he don't got the wear and tear, and they still don't want to pay."\\

He continued:

"So it's kind of like being in that ego of, you know, what do we do? And I think that's the solution of us coming together as running backs, and just standing firm on trying to get this thing done, and turn it around for the market for the upcoming future. Like you said, I got my little brother. He's only 22 years old, yeah about that, and I want to see him get as much as he deserve because he works hard."

Cook joins Ezekiel Elliot and Leonard Fournette as other star running backs who are unable to find a new team in free agency. Josh Jacobs is joined by Tony Pollard and Saquon Barkley as backs who were franchise tagged this year, but only Jacobs remains in a hold out.

Other running backs, such as Austin Ekeler, have also been publicly frustrated by their current contract situations. Many of them apparently believe that they can stand up against NFL ownership and stop the alarming trend.

For Dalvin Cook, he stated that if nothing else, it could help future negotiations for younger players like his brother James Cook.

What is Dalvin Cook's brother, James Cook's contract situation?

James Cook

James Cook was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft and is currently in the middle of his rookie deal, worth just under $6 million dollars for four years.

He's expected to play a much larger role in the Bills' high-powered offense this year, so a strong season could eventually lead to him looking for a better contract of his own.

The work that his brother, Dalvin Cook, and others are doing during the 2023 NFL offseason can potentially help him get a better deal in the future.