Are the Vikings Nearing RB Reshuffle?
Going into the offseason, the Minnesota Vikings employ one of the best running back rooms in the National Football League. Dalvin Cook is coming off another immensely productive season, and Alexander Mattison remains among the best backups in the league. A change at the position could come sooner rather than later, though.
With a new General Manager and Head Coach looking to put their stamp on the roster, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell will need to be aligned in dispersing dollars for personnel. The question regarding Kirk Cousins has never really been about his talent, but rather if his talent aligns with the percentage of cap space his contract takes up. There’s a sliding scale scenario for every player on every roster in that vein, and for Dalvin Cook, we’re going to see it soon.
In 2023 Cook’s base salary is $8.3 million, with a cap hit north of $11.8 million. Removing him from the roster carries a dead cap hit of $9.3 million. At 27-years-old, he doesn’t enter the traditional downturn for a running back yet, but there is a litany of injuries to note here. Cook has never played more than 14 games in any of his five professional years, and his absence has certainly left the Vikings out to dry at times.
Considering that sliding scale of talent and value, I still don’t see an argument when a relatively modest gap between cap hit and dead cap money makes his talent negligible. He’s one of the best multi-faceted backs in the league being able to both catch and run, and has the ability to utilize both power and speed. Where things get more interesting is 2024.
Next year’s base salary checks in at $10.4 million with a cap hit of $14.1 million. The dead cap at that point is just $6.2 million, however, and would turn his five-year deal into a three-year pact worth $27.1 million. Getting out from Cook’s contract before he turns 28 years old and being able to free up over $8 million to spread around the roster could be extremely beneficial for a Minnesota team with holes to fill. The one caveat may be the man behind him.
Alexander Mattison has continued a strong trend for the Vikings. Over the past handful of years, Minnesota has employed good backups such as Jerrick McKinnon and Latavius Murray. When stepping in for Cook three of four times this past season, Mattison racked up at least 90 yards. Despite just six career starts, Mattison has eclipsed 90 yards rushing five times. Like Cook, he’s a capable pass catcher on his own and looks the part of a starting back.
Things go wrong for Minnesota here in that Mattison becomes a free agent following the 2024 Super Bowl. He’ll be just 25-years-old at the point, and if anyone else has been watching, he’ll have suitors for a lead back role. Mattison will have made right around $1 million in each of his four seasons with the Vikings, but a reminder of what happens hits close to home in the form of McKinnon’s $30 million deal over four years in San Francisco.
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It’s too bad the ages and timing of Minnesota’s top two backs don’t align more ideally. Mattison would make a ton of sense to build around for a year or two if that was a possibility, but his assumed payday opens the door to any number of other options that could be available on the open market. Hoping Kene Nwangwu comes on as he did to end the 2022 season would be great, but we’re still talking about a guy that got 17 total offensive touches in his rookie season.
The Vikings previous regime had been faced with the difficult decision to pay running backs, and this new group may again be staring at that same conundrum sooner rather than later.
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