Players like to play.
And when they don’t get the opportunities they think they deserve, sometimes those frustrations can come out.
After the Jets stood pat at the trade deadline, a pair of players who seemed to embrace the idea of getting more action elsewhere are now here to stay, and they are adjusting to that reality.
“Just coming to work. I enjoy being here with the guys to be honest. Great group we got in here. I’m not gonna complain about anything. I just want an opportunity,” running back Dalvin Cook told The Post on Wednesday “I feel like it’s gonna come. Just got to be patient. Different situation for me to be in. So, trying to deal with it as best as I can.”
Cook, who signed a $7 million contract in August, has yet to start a game this season.
He and linebacker Carl Lawson had hinted before the deadline that they would be open to being dealt.
“Of course it’s frustrating,” Cook said recently about his playing. “I’m an honest person. I want to play. Yeah, it’s frustrating. It’s new to me. I come from getting the ball 20 times a game or however many times. Yeah, of course it’s frustrating.”
In his seven appearances, Cook has 41 carries for 114 rushing yards and nine receptions for 46 yards, with no touchdowns.
This dismal output comes after four straight seasons of 1,000-yard seasons in Minnesota.
In the four-time Pro Bowler’s first seven games of the 2022 season with the Vikings — where he spent six seasons as the top running back — Cook tallied five touchdowns in 114 carries for 561 yards.
Lawson has seen even less time on the field after starting all 17 games last season in his first year with the team.
This season the defensive end, who was signed as a free agent in 2021, has had four appearances and has played just 17 percent of defensive snaps.
The Jets’ lack of movement before Tuesday’s trade deadline was not a disappointment to coach Robert Saleh.
“I love the guys we have,” he said Wednesday. “Obviously, you’re always trying to improve, but if something’s not out there that you think can improve, just don’t do it.”
In this new role, Cook’s preparation has changed as he tries to prioritize patience, which he has deemed to be the hardest adjustment, over eagerness to avoid mistakes when given a playing opportunity.
“Not going out, getting a feel for the game and feeling things out and then going to be me. Sometimes I go out there and I’m pressing for a play, trying to make a play, and then I miss a read or something,” Cook said. “It’s just different for me. But I feel like now how I’m processing, my mind is in a place where just be ready for opportunities and just be ready to go. … I think I’m in a good space.”
Despite the anticipated disappointment, Saleh said he didn’t feel the need to address the pair when asked if he should so they don’t become a distraction to the team.
“No, not those two. Those two are tremendous professionals,” he said. “With the way the NFL seems to be working with more and more guys, they’re going to be needed by the year’s end. They’re needed every game.
“Dalvin still has a role on this football team. Carl is awesome on and off the field and the amount of work he puts into it. I’m not worried about them. … I know where their hearts are. They worked their tails off. They’re great teammates and they expect more from themselves and they expect opportunities and they believe that they can perform at a high level and you want that.”
