Dalvin Cook Confirms He’s Spoken With Dolphins, Calls Miami ‘Perfect Fit’

In an interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio, former Vikings RB Dalvin Cook confirmed he’s had some contact with the Dolphins since becoming a free agent. 

Cook added Miami would be a “perfect fit” for what he’s looking for. 

“Yeah, it’s an exciting situation to go into when you got guys that can stretch the field on the outside. I think that defense is pretty solid to me. Tua [Tagovailoa], when he’s out on the field, they got a winning a record,” Cook said via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “… As a running back you look for a certain scheme and I know the scheme that I’m good in, and that’s outside zone, and that’s what the Miami Dolphins run. So it’s like, you know, it’d be a perfect fit. And the roster, like you said, speaks for itself.”

The veteran running back was also asked what other teams he’d spoken to personally and who he saw as strong candidates to sign with. 

“You know, a lot of people got me pegged going back home [to the Dolphins]. A lot of people got me going to the Jets. It’s all over the place right now, but what’s gonna be important for me is just going to that right situation and helping somebody turn the page,” he said. “I want to go and be the piece that can just help somebody win and get over the hump and whatever that situation comes with, if it comes with me taking less reps, but me being in the perfect situation to hold up that trophy, I don’t mind. I just wanna go somewhere I can just get the ball and just help somebody win, and turn the next page.”

Cook has previously expressed a willingness to be patient and wait for the right “value.” Other reports have said he wants to make as close to the $10.4 million he was scheduled to make in 2023 as possible, which might be why Miami hasn’t already signed him.

There are other potential landing spot options that could afford to pay Cook closer to his previous 2023 salary but he’s unlikely to get close to $10.4 million from anyone right now. 

Minnesota had a hard time trading Cook due to his salary and that will play a major role in where the veteran running back ends up.

The Vikings had approached Cook about taking a pay cut to stay but he evidently preferred to take his chances with the open market and a fresh start.

Cook, 27, is a former second-round pick of the Vikings back in 2017. He was in the third year of his four-year, $6.35 million rookie contract and set to make a base salary of $1.13 million for the 2020 season when the Vikings signed him to a five-year, $63 million extension through 2025. 

Cook was due base salaries of $10.4 million and $11.9 million over the next two seasons when the Vikings released him. 

In 2022, Cook started all 17 games for the Vikings and rushed 264 times for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns. He added 39 receptions on 56 targets for 295 yards and two more touchdowns. 

We’ll have more on Cook as the news is available.