On Thursday reports emerged that the Minnesota Vikings planned to cut Dalvin Cook if they can't find a trade partner by the end of the day. The news doesn't come as a massive surprise given the Vikings have been trying to move Cook for months as he enters into the third season of a five-year, $63 million extension. It's still an odd move for a team that went 13-4 to release their leading rusher two months before training camp starts.
As you can see above, Cook is only 27 years-old and remains quite productive. He's comfortably a top-10 running back in the NFL, is fairly effective out of the backfield, and is good for a few chunk runs per game. Cook's ability to break tackles has waned significantly in the last few years but he still hits the hole hard and boasts the kind of speed that allows him to reach the second level of the defense in the blink of an eye.
But one team's loss is another team's treasure. As is often the case with high-profile free agents who hit the market this time of year (see: Hopkins, DeAndre), where Cook goes will largely depend upon his priorities. Most teams don't have a lot of money to throw around after the draft and free agency so if he wants to get paid as much as possible the list gets short quickly. If contending is more important, then there are some interesting destinations.
With all that in mind, here a few possible landing spots for Cook once he officially hits the open market.
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins are, by far, the most fun option. Mike McDaniel knows how to utilize his skill position players as well as his former boss. Miami's run game was below average last season but that can be attributed, at least in part, to the revolving door of journeymen they had at their disposal. Adding Cook to that offense would make it somehow even more dangerous, and adding more talent to the RB room makes relying on the ground game a more realistic path to win. The fewer dropbacks for Tua Tagovailoa, the better.
The primary obstacle to this union is that the Dolphins are reportedly not interesting in paying Cook a whole lot to play for them. Which could be a problem. But they'll certainly inquire and if Cook is willing to play on a cheap deal in exchange for living in South Beach and enjoying McDaniel's offense, there's an agreement here.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos have been linked to Cooks today and it makes sense. Sean Payton undoubtedly loved having Alvin Kamara to work with in New Orleans and doesn't have anybody even close to that in Denver right now. The "all hands on deck" approach will be required to resuscitate Russell Wilson's career so adding a talent like Cook to the offense is a no-brainer. On Cook's end working with Payton would be a tremendous way to give his stock a boost on a one-year deal and hit free agency at the proper time next year with a good season behind him to get one more payday.
The Broncos don't have that much money to play with, though. Cook may end up too expensive for their tastes. A pretty good fit if Cook doesn't like what he finds on the open market salary-wise, though.
Dallas Cowboys
This could end up being the most ideal destination between fit and salary. Dallas has $20 million in cap space. Tony Pollard is recovering from a broken leg and he's the only proven RB on the roster at the moment. They could always bring Ezekiel Elliott back but he is clearly past his prime and all may not be well with how the end of his Cowboys tenure went down. Most of all we know Jerry Jones loves to make a splash.
Would the Cowboys want to invest in Cook while also paying Pollard's franchise tag? That's a lot for the running back position. But with how much money is being spent on the rest of the roster anything short of a deep playoff run will be unacceptable to the Jones clan. Cook would be another playmaker to help Dak Prescott, and for that reason alone he's worth considering.
This article was originally published on thebiglead as Three Dalvin Cook Free Agency Destinations .
