Ex-Vikings RB Chimes in on Dalvin Cook’s Release
Janik Eckardt
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The release of star running back Dalvin Cook has been expected for months.
Only finding a trade partner could’ve prevented it from happening. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah pulled the trigger on Friday and dismissed the four-time Pro Bowler. Then, a reputable predecessor of Cook chimed in on social media.
Ex-Vikings RB Chimes in on Dalvin Cook’s Release
Robert Smith, one of the top running backs on the long list in the history of Vikings star runners, understood the management’s move:
Loved seeing the Vikings draft him and really enjoyed watching him run – hate to see Dalvin leave but it’s just business. The NFL running back position has seen a decline in value- supply and demand at work again.
Robert Smith
A heated debate ignited on Thursday when the news of the expected release first surfaced. Some view Cook as irreplaceable. Others think a different running back will do. Amid these arguments, it was nice to see a voice of reason in the space.
Smith played for the Vikings between 1993-2000. Unlike Cook, he started and finished his career with the purple team. The former Ohio State star runner is now a college football analyst.
As Smith mentioned, running backs are no longer valued like they used to be in the past. Indeed, the mechanics of supply and demand have hit the position. Running backs still enter the league at a high rate. In fact, good runners can be found anywhere in the draft. In the 2022 season, Falcons rookie Tyler Allgeier rushed for more than 1,000 yards in his debut season – he was a fifth-rounder. Seventh-round pick Isiah Pacheco was the leading rusher of the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Because of that influx of late-round talents at the position, teams are no longer willing to spend top dollar on veterans. The selections of RBs in the first round of the draft declined massively in the last few years, even though a couple of them heard their names called this year. Frequent injuries to top rushers also lower the value, which is why teams look to form committees of two or three equally talented players.
The Vikings use that same strategy. Relatively cheap veteran Alexander Mattison is expected to lead that committee in Minnesota, with late-round picks DeWayne McBride and Ty Chandler as possible substitutes.
The league is becoming a passing league, and teams run much less than in the past, except for a few outliers. Kevin O’Connell used the rushing game on only roughly a third of the offensive plays in his first year in charge, which is another reason why the decision was made to move on from the expensive veteran.
Smith further stated:
Many will blame the salary cap, but cap hits can be manipulated if both sides agree on value moving forward. If the Vikings thought he was worth his contract, they would have kept him, if another team thought he was worth his current deal, they would have traded for him.
It’s possible that the Vikings asked Cook to take a pay cut, something safety Harrison Smith and linebacker Jordan Hicks agreed to, but that is speculation. Neither the Vikings nor a different team thought Cook was worth his contract, which is why he was released instead of traded.
Cook will likely sign for a cheaper value than what he would’ve gotten from the Vikes in 2023 and beyond, and it will be interesting to see where he will continue his career. Miami, Buffalo, and Denver are teams in the conversation.
Cook is the third-leading rusher in Vikings’ franchise history, only trailing Adrian Peterson and Smith. He ranks fourth in rushing touchdowns behind Peterson, Chuck Foreman, and Bill Brown, and his 82.1 yards per game rank second behind Peterson.
The decision was a reasonable one and should not come as a surprise considering the analytical mind of Adofo-Mensah and the low value of running backs and the analytical world.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and Classic rock is his music genre of choice. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt
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