Vikings Fans Wait as Calendar Flips to ‘Dalvin Day’
Dustin Baker
|
The NFL has funky salary cap rules and one mandates that contracts can be jostled after June 1st for certain players to alleviate the cap strain on a team.
Vikings Fans Wait as Calendar Flips to ‘Dalvin Day’
Such is the case for the Minnesota Vikings and Dalvin Cook. Starting Friday at midnight — or 11:00 pm CST on Thursday night — Cook can be officially traded or released for a lesser cap penalty on the 2023 books.
June 1st has long been a day circled by Vikings fans as ‘what will happen with Dalvin,’ so if you’re reading this Thursday, you’re mere hours away from a possible verdict.
The three-month-long saga started for one reason — Cook’s contract as orchestrated by former general manager Rick Spielman. Late in the summer of 2020, just before kickoff of the pandemic season, in fact, Cook was extended by the Vikings for five years and $63 million. That was almost three years ago.
Based on the contract’s structure, June 2nd, 2023, was always the date Cook could be traded or released without exorbitant financial pain.
And here we are — debating that topic on the eve of the preordained contract marker.
Before June 1st, sending Cook elsewhere would’ve saved $7.8 million and perhaps fetched a mid-to-late round draft pick. Had the organization released Cook before June 1st, the club could’ve saved $5.9 million with an $8.2 million cap penalty. After that date, it’s $9 million in savings with a $5.1 million cap penalty with a release. And perhaps the most logical option, starting Friday, the Vikings can trade Cook for a draft pick(s) while saving $11 million. It’s a $3.2 million trade difference between ‘then and now.’
Since the Cook trade rumor caught fire early in March, Minnesota has re-signed Alexander Mattison for two years and $7 million. Running backs Ty Chandler and Kene Nwangwu were part of the 2022 roster and have not left. Plus, the Vikings drafted UAB’s DeWayne McBride in Round 7 five weeks ago. It’s a crowded house at running back, especially if Cook remains with the Vikings. Most teams don’t barge into a regular season with five running backs — and relatively big-name runners, at that.
In theory, if the Vikings had no qualms with employing five tailbacks, they could embark on the season with Cook and make it work; it would just be a little weird. Too many mouths to feed. Cook could also accept a paycut if he realized his open market value was less than Minnesota’s proposed paycut. Still, Cook as a Viking in 2023 remains a longshot.
The writing on the wall has suggested for months that Friday is ‘the day’ when Cook movement was the most logical. We’re staring at the wall.
Justin Jefferson Chatter Ignites
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.