New York Jets running back Breece Hall Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

HC Robert Saleh details Jets' plan to divide up workload between RBs

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 9/5/23

The New York Jets have one of the deepest group of running backs in the NFL.

However, the embarrassment of riches does come with one trivial problem for head coach Robert Saleh: deciding how to divvy up the workload between Dalvin Cook and Breece Hall — both of whom could start for any number of teams — while also trying to find a way to work Michael Carter into the mix.

"I don't know if I want to call it a snap count, but we are going to be smart with them," Saleh told reporters . "We'll continue to evaluate and build up what we think Monday (against the Bills) needs to be, but it's not that we're putting a snap count on it. It's just [Cook and Hall are] two really good football players — Michael Carter's a really good football player — and just trying to find a way to feature all of them, along with the receivers and tight ends that we have. So there's going to be enough to go around."

#Jets coach Robert Saleh tells reporters that while RB Breece Hall won't practice today, it's merely a maintenance day. Hall and Dalvin Cook will both play in the opener and the team will be smart with Hall in his return.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 4, 2023

Hall, who rushed for 463 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 5.8 yards per carry as a rookie, is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Week 7 of last season. Neither he nor Cook played during the preseason, though that’s less of a concern for the four-time Pro Bowler Cook, who has four straight 1,100-yard rushing seasons.

Conversely, Carter appeared twice during the preseason and logged eight carries for 20 yards and two receptions for 34 yards. The 24-year-old took over for Hall after his injury but managed just 174 rushing yards and one touchdown in the nine games he played in Hall’s absence.

With questions still hanging over the health of Hall’s knee, Cook should see the lion’s share of the carries in Monday night’s opener against Buffalo, which had the No. 5 run defense in the league last year, allowing 104.6 rushing yards allowed per game, while Hall and Carter work in.

In his lone game against the Bills — a 33-30 overtime win in Week 10 last year when he was with the Minnesota Vikings — Cook rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, which included an 81-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

More must-reads: