Keep an Eye on Vikings Foe for Dalvin Cook Trade
The Dallas Cowboys are the only NFL team to play at U.S. Bank Stadium more than once and remain undefeated. They’ve toppled the Vikings at the Glass Palace four times consecutively.
Dallas is also a team to monitor inside the neverending Dalvin Cook trade sweepstakes, according to Bleacher Report.
Keep an Eye on Vikings Foe for Dalvin Cook Trade
Cook has been the subject of trade rumors for nearly three months, dating back to Miami Dolphins theories around the start of March. Minnesota re-signed Alexander Mattison in free agency, employ second-year RB Ty Chandler, drafted UAB’s DeWayne McBride, and has KR-RB Kene Nwangwu on the depth chart. That’s a crowded RB house, especially in a pass-happy NFL.
Interestingly, when folks began to speculate a Cook departure this offseason, the Vikings needed cap space, and his contract was ‘easy’ to nominate for movement. Now, though, Minnesota has around $9.5 in funds available, seeming to make Cook’s exit less mandatory.
But that didn’t stop Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox from plopping Cook onto the Cowboys roster via trade in an article this week about potential trades. Selecting the Vikings and Cowboys as trade partners with Cook to Dallas and a 4th- and 5th-Rounder to Minnesota, Knox explained, “Cook could be that high-end complement to Pollard that Dallas needs, and with $14.2 million in cap space, the Cowboys could afford to grab him. The question, of course, is whether Minnesota would be willing to trade him inside the conference.”
Cook recorded 1,173 rushing yards in 2022, his sixth NFL season, with 10 total touchdowns. He implemented a knack for long touchdowns that almost singlehandedly saved 3-4 Vikings games while his yards per carry and yards over expected metrics curiously dipped.
Knox added, “While Cook has three years left on his contract, virtually everyone knows the Vikings are willing to move on. This lowers his trade value and likely puts it in line with what the Detroit Lions got for D’Andre Swift during draft weekend.”
The idea of Cook to Dallas makes sense on paper — and the Cowboys adore big-name running backs — but others are less enthused. Last week, Mike Fisher from Cowboys SI mentioned the Cook-Cowboys hubbub, “While there would be obvious interest in a star runner who seems still in his prime at a grandly reduced rate, a league source tells us that Dallas’ response to any and all trade concepts from the Vikings would be ‘no deal.'”
Fisher implied Jerry Jones and the gang would only be interested in Cook if he hit the open market via release, not trade.
Minnesota would save $11 million by trading Cook after June 1st — five days from now. Otherwise, the Vikings salary cap is not in rough shape, and Cook could conceivably stay on the roster indefinitely.
Knox also mentioned the possibilities of Mike Evans to the Indianapolis Colts, DeAndre Hopkins to the Buffalo Bills, and Chase Young to the Cincinnati Bengals in the trade-theory article.
Keenan McCardell Elated about New Weapon
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment.