There was some big news in the NFL on Thursday as the Minnesota Vikings are nearing a resolution with running back Dalvin Cook. The four-time Pro Bowler has been involved in rumors all offseason as the Vikings have been looking to shrink the amount of money owed to him on their salary cap.
He was approached about taking a pay cut but those talks went nowhere. At multiple points this season, it was reported that the Vikings were going to trade Cook to save money. Alas, nothing came to fruition.
Each soft deadline passed and no deal was made. So, the Vikings have decided that if no deal is reached by Friday, they will release him. The potential for Minnesota to move on via release is likely a big reason they were unable to find a trade partner as teams weren’t going to surrender many assets for a player that could eventually be signed in free agency.
Unless something changes in the final hours, Cook will be hitting free agency. Heading home to the Miami Dolphins has been mentioned as the least likely scenario, which would give an already scary offense even more firepower.
The final decision the Vikings are moving toward has brought about some different opinions around the football world. One person with a strong take on things was Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.
He ripped into the organization for how they handled things this offseason, believing that they should have tried harder to restructure his contract. “It would have been easy to exercise the right to restructure Cook’s contract and push cap dollars to future years, as the cap keeps going up and up.” (H/T MSN)
That was certainly a route the team could have considered, as the salary cap is projected to boom in the coming years. But, he was not done tearing into the Vikings, as he believes they are happy with being just good enough.
“Still, all things considered, it feels like just another day in purple purgatory, where being just good enough is always good enough, and where loyal fans will be lured to fill the stands and buy the merch not by the reality of a championship run but by the consistently fleeting, false hope of one.”
Those are certainly some strong, stinging words from Florio. His sentiments are likely shared by some fans of the team, who see Cook continue to produce at a Pro Bowl level.
If it is any consolation, the Vikings at least have a plug-and-play replacement ready to go on the roster. Andrew Mattison has excelled whenever called upon to replace Cook and will now be the unquestioned starter in what should be a high-powered offense once again in 2023.
