The Minnesota Vikings answered one of their biggest questions of the offseason when they traded Za’Darius Smith to the Cleveland Browns on Friday night. But with Smith out of the picture, the focus now turns to Dalvin Cook.
Cook’s departure from Minnesota has been rumored for months and with June 1 coming up, there is steam that the Vikings could trade or release Cook ahead of the 2023 season.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tried to shine some light on Cook’s situation during an appearance on SportsCenter Sunday morning, saying the Vikings “want to do right” by Cook but also left the door open for his eventual return if they can’t find a destination.
“They want him to go to a place where he can play and be happy,” Fowler said. “Whether that’s via trade, or eventual release, or even staying in Minnesota. But that’s sort of the thing they’ve been sorting through.”
June 1 could be an important date in the Cook saga as the Vikings would save $11 million if they trade or release the 27-year-old compared to $7.8 million if they did it prior to June 1. Even if that date does spur progress in trade talks, Fowler doesn’t see “a clear-cut avenue” for him to be traded.
“I’ve talked to some teams who have linked [Cook] to Miami in the past just because he’s a South Florida guy,” Fowler said. “They were looking for a running back at one point, but they drafted one in the third round and re-signed a couple of players so there’s not a clear-cut avenue for him to be traded at least at the moment.”
Cook carries a cap hit of $14.1 million for 2023 and is coming off surgery to repair a shoulder injury that was suffered in 2019. The Vikings have hinted toward moving on from Cook this offseason after re-signing Alexander Mattison to a two-year deal, drafting UAB running back DeWayne McBride in the seventh round of this year’s draft and showing reported interest in David Montgomery, who signed with the Detroit Lions in free agency.
With Kevin O’Connell stating the Vikings need more consistency in the running game heading into next season. Cook could be on to a new team. Just how he’ll wind up there remains to be seen.
