According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Minnesota Vikings plan on releasing Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook in a major move late in free agency. This is a huge move even if many of us saw this coming for weeks. It’s clearly a new era in Minnesota as Vikings’ GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is ushering in a new beginning after a shockingly good 2022 season.
Four-time Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook is set to hit the open market on Friday. Here’s what Adam Schefter had to say about the situation on Thursday morning:
Vikings have informed Dalvin Cook that he’s being released, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 8, 2023
Vikings are expected to try to trade four-time Pro-Bowl RB Dalvin Cook one more time today and if they are unable to, they would plan to process his official release Friday, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 8, 2023
The Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos are two of the teams that are expected to have an interest in signing running back Dalvin Cook once he officially is released, per sources. There likely will be others, but those two have been monitoring Cook for weeks.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 8, 2023
So, his release from the Vikings is not official just yet, as it seems as of the team is holding out hope that they can get something back in a trade for him. Well, with the news that he is going to be cut if a trade cannot be found, his potential value in a trade just got that much lower. I don’t anticipate any team going after Cook right now.
They’ll likely just wait it out until Friday comes along where the Vikings will then release him, making him the top free agent on the market. Schefter also notes that both the Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos are expected to have interest in the player.
I don’t see the Dolphins being serious players for Cook, as their backfield is very crowded with players like Jeff Wilson, Raheem Mostert, and Devon Achane. The Denver Broncos make so much more sense to me, as Javonte Williams is not fully healthy yet from his knee injury and the team’s top running back not named Javonte Williams is Samaje Perine, a career backup who has not had a full workload in the NFL before.
George Paton is the Broncos’ General Manager, and he was in the front office when the Vikings drafted Dalvin Cook back in 2017. Sean Payton has also had some fun using running backs who can catch passes as well.
This is the best fit for Cook. The Broncos have also been very aggressive during this free agency period, so adding a player at a current position of need would be on par for the 2023 Denver Broncos.
With Payton having the final roster say, I would honestly be shocked if Dalvin Cook was not a Bronco.