Vikings Still Working Through Situation With Dalvin Cook

Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell said they are still working through RB Dalvin Cook‘s situation after he came up as a potential trade candidate around the 2023 NFL Draft. 

“I tend to let [G.M.] Kwesi [Adofo-Mensah] and [executive V.P. of football operations] Rob [Brzezinski] work through things, you know, contractually or whatever may be there,” O’Connell said, via ProFootballTalk. “I can just tell you what Dalvin meant to me, not only in year one as one of our core leaders of our team, but also just the impact he had on the field. His consistency, his toughness, durability, playing through some different things, and consistently being out there for us in critical moments and just some of the huge plays that he made right alongside Kirk [Cousins] and Justin [Jefferson] and the rest of our offensive players, really will never be lost on me.”

O’Connell added they want what is best for Cook and they don’t want to take the running back “for granted.” 

“But we want what’s best for Dalvin and Dalvin knows that, and we continue to work through you know that situation knowing that the respect that the Minnesota Vikings and our organization have for Dalvin has been earned, but it’s more than that. We care about obviously the player and ultimately, he’s under contract and very much something that you know I don’t take for granted having had Dalvin Cook on this team and what that’s meant to me as a coach here in year one. We’ll see where things go here the rest of the offseason. They’re still you know working through some things, and I’m sure we’ll come to a great resolution. And if that means Dalvin Cook is still playing running back for the Vikings, that’s something that will be a really good thing for me as the head coach and play caller.”

In recent weeks, Albert Breer of SI.com wrote Cook was a name watch as a potential trade target but the organization was still “receptive to the idea of bringing him back.” However, Breer says it won’t be at his current salary of $11 million. 

The Vikings re-signed RB Alexander Mattison to a two-year, $7 million deal this offseason, which has led to questions about Cook’s future with the team. 

Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah previously danced around the question of Cook’s status and whether Mattison’s signing impacts him. 

“You know, I think that’s — I think in theory they could exist, of course,” Adofo-Mensah said via Pro Football Talk. “Different style of backs. Again, we talk about the systems we’re trying to play. Together, they’re different style of backs. They could fit complementary together, for sure.”

The Dolphins have come up as a potential option for Cook should he be released outright. 

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 is due base salaries of $10.4 million and $11.9 million over the next two seasons. 

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.