NFL insider says Vikings are willing to trade star player
The Minnesota Vikings have added plenty of talent this offseason through free agency as well as in the 2023 NFL Draft. While the team’s newcomers begin the assimilation process, there is one star whose departure feels inevitable. Vikings running back Dalvin Cook has had many ups and downs in Minnesota. Cook has been named to […]
The Minnesota Vikings have added plenty of talent this offseason through free agency as well as in the 2023 NFL Draft. While the team’s newcomers begin the assimilation process, there is one star whose departure feels inevitable.
Vikings running back Dalvin Cook has had many ups and downs in Minnesota. Cook has been named to four consecutive Pro Bowls and currently sits in third place for Minnesota’s all-time rushing yards.
However recent injury issues and a hefty salary cap hit in 2023 have made his future with the team quite murky. Cook’s name has been involved in trade rumors throughout the offseason, but ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler indicates that the team is trying to do the right thing while also looking out for their own future.
“Dalvin Cook, in Minnesota, he has a $14.1 million cap hit. And so I was told from a source the Vikings want to do right by the player,” Fowler said. “So, they're prepared, as of now, to hold on to his cap number through the offseason. But if there's a good trade offer that comes through, the Vikings will listen to that and could potentially move on it if it makes sense for the team and the player. That's an important distinction that was made to me. They signed Alex Mattison in the offseason as a potential starter. You know, Miami was a team that was linked to Dalvin Cook but nothing happened around draft day.”
It appears as though Cook’s time in Minnesota is coming to a close. If Cook has in fact played his last snap with the Vikings, the team will turn to Mattison and seventh-round pick DeWayne McBride to assume his heavy workload in the backfield.
The Vikings seem willing to work with Cook on finding his next destination. The Dolphins remain a team to watch here as they check all of the boxes for a team in need of a star running back. It doesn’t hurt that Cook also attended Miami Central High School back in the day.
