Keyshawn Johnson Wants Dalvin Cook in AFC West
Dustin Baker
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Dalvin Cook needs an NFL place of employment for 2023 after the Minnesota Vikings ended his run in purple two weeks ago. Cook was the Vikings RB1 for six seasons from 2017 to 2022.
Soon, some new team will take the plunge and onboard the 27-year-old playmaker.
Keyshawn Johnson Wants Dalvin Cook in AFC West
And while the NFL world speculates whether Cook’s new team could be the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, or Buffalo Bills, ESPN’s Keyshawn Johnson has an idea — the Denver Broncos.
Johnson explained the landing spot for Cook on the Keshawn, JWill and Max Show Wednesday, “I think when you look at what Sean Payton wants to do, he wants to get back to early age Russell Wilson with the Seahawks. Play defense, let him manage the football, and run the ball extremely well.”
Cook tallied 1,173 rushing yards in 2022 with 10 total touchdowns and 3 gigantic paydirts that almost singlehandedly saved Vikings games from ruin.
Denver has been slightly whispered in the Cook rumor mill for two weeks, although Denver media has squashed the theory, at times. Denver 9News’ Mike Klis reported on June 11, “Some may look at the Broncos’ running back position and see depth concerns, the way the team’s edge-rusher position looked before veteran Frank Clark and his 58.5 career sacks were brought in Thursday for a one-year, $5.5 million agreement. Yet, the Broncos do not appear to be in on newly set free running back Dalvin Cook, who is coming off four consecutive 1,100-yard rushing seasons for the Minnesota Vikings.”
Perhaps the free-agent sweepstakes were an either-or for Denver regarding Frank Clark and Dalvin Cook. We shall see.
The Broncos hope to fundamentally change, well, everything about their recent dealings, as last year was a trainwreck. The organization acquired Russell Wilson via trade in March 2022, hired Nathaniel Hackett as head coach, and what ensued was gridiron feces. Denver ended up firing Hackett before the end of the 2022 season, and Wilson became the punchline of jokes.
Now, though, the Broncos hired Sean Payton to smash the tomfoolery and return to winning basics. It’s hard to believe that Wilson fired up 10 ‘lucky’ seasons from 2012 to 2021 with the Seattle Seahawks, and if anyone can ‘fix’ Wilson or return him to normalcy, that’s Payton, at least according to the Broncos ownership.
Denver has around $8.8 million in available cap space, just enough to seriously explore Cook’s free agency if it’s genuinely interested. Cook’s camp recently implied he isn’t seeking a team-friendly deal and still wants north of $5 million to play in 2023.
If Cook joins the Broncos, he and upstart tailback Javonte Williams will formulate a formidable duo.
Cook turns 28 in August.
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.
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