Odds are 'pretty high' Dalvin Cook will sign with Jets

Dalvin Cook believes the Jets are “building something special” and said the odds are “pretty high” that he will sign with them.

The free-agent running back is visiting with the Jets this weekend. If all goes well, the franchise looking to win the Super Bowl for the first time since 1969 could have another playmaker on its roster.

“I think they’re pretty high, man,” Cook said during an appearance on the NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” on Friday. “I think we’re in a position of a team that’s building something special and I want to be a part of something special as a player and I want to add to whatever they got going on.

“I think the possibility is high right now of getting things done.”

Cook is expected to meet with the Jets on Sunday and take a physical. The Jets are interested in adding him to an already talented and deep offense led by four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers. A pairing of Breece Hall and Cook in the backfield would give the Jets arguably the best 1-2 punch in the NFL.

Getting Rodgers has opened the doors for the Jets to attract superstar players. Cook, a four-time Pro Bowler, said Rodgers is a big reason he’s considering the Jets and leaning toward joining them.

“It’s a unique situation,” Cook said. “I think they’re building something special over there. You always want to be around a great QB. You always want to be around someone you can pick his brain and learn from. A-Rod is a four-time MVP, so just being around a guy like that, you can learn a lot more and just develop as a player. That’s what I’m looking to do.”

Rodgers took a $35 million pay cut in his reworked contract to give the Jets the flexibility to sign players such as Cook. It makes the former Viking want to be Rodgers’ teammate even more.

“It feels like that’s the guy you want to be around,” Cook said. “When you think back to Tom Brady’s days, when he didn’t make as much, but he wanted what he wanted around him.

“I think Aaron’s in a spot where he just wants to win. He wants to go prove to everybody, ‘I’m in a big city, we’re going to go win and get this thing done.’ You appreciate a guy like that and you go put it on the line for a guy like that.”

The Dolphins and Patriots also have shown interest in Cook, who said no other meetings are planned at this time. Cook said he’s going through the process but “the Jets are right at the top of the list” of his teams.

Cook, who is from South Florida, didn’t rule out playing for Miami, though.

“I’m still weighing my options,” he said. “This thing is not over. Playing in my hometown would mean so much for me, my community, for my family, just everything around me. It’s a Cinderella story. It’s just something that would bring so much joy to the city and I know what I could bring to the city. It would be big for the city and for myself.”

The Jets can remove Miami from the mix if the money is right. Cook said he will go home and talk to his family before making a decision, but there is growing belief that something could get done with the Jets this weekend.

As far as a fit, Robert Saleh said that shouldn’t be a problem. Cook has rushed for at least 1,100 yards the past four seasons and has run for a total of 47 touchdowns.

“He’s dynamic,” Saleh said. “He’s a dynamic ballcarrier. He’s been a dynamic ballcarrier for a long time. He’s great in the pass game. I’m not going to get detailed. You can’t say no to a good football player. They usually find a way.”

Saleh said he was “excited” to meet with Cook, who wants to feel the love after being cut by Minnesota last month.

“Just a great vibe,” Cook said he was looking for with this meeting. “Just getting around people that want to love on Dalvin Cook, that want to share that value that I want and just trying to get around some guys that want to win. I want to bring something different to the table, and that’s being Dalvin Cook. I think that’s what I bring to the table.”

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.