Dolphins Emerge As Favorites To Sign Dalvin Cook After Vikings Release
After six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Dalvin Cook will be playing for a new team in the 2023 season. The Minnesota Vikings told Cook that he would be released on Friday, June 9, if they were unable to find a trade partner. Opening odds at Bovada favor the Miami Dolphins signing Cook at even money.
Cook has been regarded as one of the best running backs in the NFL. However, the Vikings are not interested in using $14.1 in cap space on a 28-year-old running back. Cook was set to make $11 million with the Vikings in 2023.
The former Florida State Seminole earned four straight Pro Bowl appearances from 2019 to 2022. In six seasons with the Vikings, Cook rushed for 5,993 yards and 47 touchdowns. He averaged 4.7 yards per carry in his time with the Vikings.
Despite playing in only 13 games in 2021, Cook still gained 1,159 yards and 6 touchdowns. In 2022, it was another productive year, as Cook ran for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns in 17 games. However, the Vikings are not willing to spend big money on an aging running back who has gotten banged up over the last two years.
If Cook was interested in reworking his contract to take less money, the Vikings would have been all ears. That said, as a soon-to-be 28-year-old injury-prone running back, Cook was not going to take a hometown discount for the Vikings.
He and the Vikings went into the offseason with the expectation that 2022 could have been his final year in Minnesota. In their late 20s, running backs tend to lose a step. For a running back like Cook, who depends on being an explosive runner, the Vikings went in another direction.
Why did the Vikings wait until now to release Cook? This decision comes down to dollars. By releasing Cook after June 1, the organization will save $9 million in cap space.
The Vikings will have to take on $5.1 in dead money on their cap space in 2023. If Minnesota traded him, they would have saved $11 million in cap space. So, this wasn’t the best scenario, but it could have been worse for the Vikings.
Regardless of Cook getting older, he can still contribute to a team in 2023. The Vikings probably believed Cook could be a contributor as well, but age and money were too big of obstacles to overcome.
The Vikings drafted Alexander Mattison in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Mattison was a workhorse in college at Boise State. The move was done to have a solid running back behind Cook on the depth chart.
Four years later, Mattison has overtaken Cook as the lead running back in Minnesota. Mattison has shown that he can be a feature back if given the chance.
Cook hasn’t exactly been an injury-free running back over the past few years. Mattison has been used as the leading runner in the past, though his responsibilities will improve significantly in 2023.
In four years with the Vikings, the 24-year-old has run for 1,670 yards and 11 touchdowns. Mattison has also proven to be a solid pass catcher out of the backfield. He has 70 receptions, 526 yards, and 3 touchdowns as a receiver. Additionally, he has been durable in his career, with 59 appearances in four years.
Mattison is a much cheaper option in the backfield for the Vikings. In March, Mattison inked a two-year, $7 million dollar contract to remain with Minnesota. At this point, it was abundantly clear that the Vikings were looking to shop Cook.
Currently, Ty Chandler is behind Mattison on the Vikings’ depth chart. The fifth-round rookie played in just three games and carried the ball six times in 2022. There will likely be a running back battle in training camp for the No. 2 role in Minnesota.
According to online sportsbook Bovada, Cook is expected to be packing his bags for Miami. The current odds for Cook’s next team in the NFL has the Dolphins as the favorites. At the moment, Cook has +100 odds to sign with the Dolphins.
The Dolphins picked up plenty of cap space after releasing cornerback Byron Jones. After failing a physical, the Dolphins opted to release Jones from the team. This means that the Dolphins have an extra $13.6 million to play around with as a result of Jones’ departure.
The newfound cap room on their roster has led oddsmakers and the public to believe that the Dolphins have to be considering Cook. By adding Cook to the roster, he and Raheem Mostert would immediately provide a dangerous 1-2 punch to an already dangerous offense.
However, is this the best use of spending money? The Dolphins could certainly look in another direction. Miami head coach Mike McDaniel may be thinking exactly what the Vikings were. Paying a 28-year-old running back over $10 million may not be worth the risk.
If not the Dolphins, then the next team expected to sign Cook is the New York Jets. The Jets have the second-best odds at +250 odds. A move for Cook would cap off a monster offseason after trading for Aaron Rodgers earlier in the year.
The Jets are followed by the Buffalo Bills at +500, and then the Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals both have +1000 odds to sign Cook in 2023.
