Vikings Cut Star Running Back Dalvin Cook, A Huge Salary Cap Move For 2023 Season

The pump was being primed for at least the last four months. Even though Dalvin Cook has been one of the most consistent and productive Vikings throughout his tenure in Minnesota, it was inevitable that his days in purple were coming to an end.

The Vikings were hoping to find a willing trade partner for Cook, but once the NFL Draft was over, the conclusion seemed inevitable. The team would have to cut their long-time No. 1 running back. Now that has become reality – or at least it will as of Friday — head coach Kevin O’Connell and the coaching staff will have to go forward without Cook from this point forward.

The reason for Cook’s departure is two-fold. The Vikings will create $9 million in cap space as a result of the move. Cook was going into the fourth year of a five-year, $63 million contract. The team has been in a brutal cap position since the start of last season, and axing Cook will help in this area. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has made a number of middling moves and this one will create waves within the organization.

There is little doubt that Cook has been a top-5 player within the organization for multiple years. He has demonstrated an explosive gear throughout his six-years with the Vikings. The last four seasons has seen Cook gain a minimum of 1,135 rushing yards, with his best coming in 2020 when he rushed for 1,557 yards and 16 touchdowns with an average of 5.0 yards per carry.

Cook has always demonstrated an ability to catch passes out of the backfield, and he caught a career-best 53 passes for 519 yards in 2019.

The Vikings have promoted backup running back Alexander Mattison throughout the offseason. He has been one of the best No. 2 running backs in the league throughout his four years with the Vikings. However, it’s a big jump to go from one of the best backups to one of the best starters at the position. The Vikings are going to expect much more from Mattison, who has regularly demonstrated a rare ability to break tackles and turn negative plays into positive ones.

Aside from the financial benefit of cutting Cook, the football reason for making this huge decision is the number of runs for 0 or negative yards. Cook had more of them than 40 of 42 qualified running backs in the NFL. Even though Cook has demonstrated eye-catching explosiveness throughout his career and the ability to make big plays, he was unable to get out of the grasp of tacklers throughout the 2022 season.

This became a problem as the Vikings attempted to sustain drives. After Minnesota had gained 8 or 9 yards on first-down plays, Cook was regularly unable to convert what should have been easy second-down plays into first downs. Perhaps Kirk Cousins would convert the next play successfully on third down or Mattison would run for it, but positive offensive momentum was being derailed when Cook got tackled behind the line of scrimmage.

This is not to say that cutting Cook is a good move for the Vikings, but there is a reason for it. Ridding themselves of Cook’s salary will help them ensure Justin Jefferson remains a Vikings for the foreseeable future, and it will give Adofo-Mensah more maneuverability to make additional moves.

The next chapter of Cook’s career will begin shortly. Teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins should be the front runners for his services, and if the Dolphins sign the Miami native, they could move into the favorite’s role in the AFC East.

The speed at their skill positions with wide receivers Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill along with Cook would be daunting for the rest of that division. Miami’s explosive offense could reach epic proportions.

The Vikings are not a better team without Cook. However, it appears that the Vikings have subscribed to the theory that running backs have a limited life span in the NFL. They could be right about that.

But Cook had a huge presence on the field and in the locker room, and the Vikings will be hard-pressed to make up for his absence.

A new and challenging chapter begins for the Vikings.