Jets’ Carter excited to play with Cook: ‘Can’t believe I’m in a room like this’

New York Jets tailback Michael Carter is stunned by his team’s talent at the running back position ahead of the upcoming season.

“It’s nuts, I can’t believe I’m in a room like this,” Carter said Tuesday, a day after New York signed four-time Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook.

In addition to signing Cook, New York activated Breece Hall off the physically unable to perform list on Tuesday, welcoming back to practice a second-year running back who put on a show as a rookie in 2022 before a torn ACL ended his campaign prematurely.

“The room that we have right now, it’s nuts,” added Carter, who led the team with 114 rushing attempts in 2022. “You can’t get this done on Madden.”

Carter is expected to enter the 2023 campaign as New York’s No. 3 running back behind Cook and Hall. The Jets plan to limit Hall’s workload early in the season and lean on Cook as the primary rusher, a source told ESPN’s Rich Cimini.

“We just added a great guy to the room,” Hall said Tuesday of the Cook signing. “It’s going to be good for competition and it’s going to bring the best out of everybody.”

The team’s running back depth chart still features Zonovan Knight and fifth-round rookie Israel Abanikanda, among others.

“There’s only one football,” Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said, according to Cimini. “You always want everybody to want the ball at all times, and I think we have a lot of people that want the ball and deserve the ball.”

With four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and 52 scrimmage touchdowns under his belt, Cook is easily the most accomplished running back on New York’s roster. The 28-year-old spent his first six NFL seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, rushing for 5,993 yards (4.7 per carry) in 73 games.

Meanwhile, Hall stood out in the first half of the 2022 season before going down with a knee injury. The former second-round pick – who led the Jets with 463 yards on the ground despite appearing in only seven games – finished his rookie year with 681 scrimmage yards and five total touchdowns in just 99 touches.

The Jets head into the 2023 season with sky-high expectations after acquiring quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a trade from the Green Bay Packers during the offseason.