Dalvin Cook Decision Will Have Massive Ramifications For Vikings In 2023

The Vikings are facing a critical issue as the 2023 Draft approaches. The impact of the team’s salary cap problems has been front and center for general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell since the two men were hired early in 2022.

Not much has changed in that regard. The Vikings are dead last of the 32 teams with the amount they have to spend — $1.3 million – and that’s why questions have lingered regarding running back Dalvin Cook and edge rusher Za’Darius Smith. Those questions have to be answered quickly.

Cook has been one of the team’s best players for the last 5 seasons, and he has been among the top 3 running backs in the league when he has been in top form. Cook has rushed for 1,135 yards or more in each of the last 4 seasons, and he has been a significant asset as a receiver.

It would be a mistake to look at the 28-year-old running back (at the start of the 2023 season) and say that since he is going into his 7^th season in the league that an inevitable downturn will begin. He has been a special player at the position, but Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell must decide if he will continue to be special.

Cook had surgery to repair a torn labrum in the offseason, and the Vikings re-signed No. 2 running back Alexander Mattison to a two-year deal. Both of these factors have to be considered when deciding Cook’s future with the Vikings.

It’s clear that the rest of the league has not valued the running back position for many years. While brilliant backs can take over a game and help close out games with consistent production in the fourth quarter, running backs rarely change games with explosive plays.

The belief has been that teams can find good and productive backs who are nearly as effective as superstars, and that the workload will eventually grind the talent out of the player. It’s one thing to have a 23-year-old back in his first or second year, but once a player gets to his fourth or fifth year, he will begin to lose effectiveness.

Cook is still a dynamic performer, but he may not have the same consistency that he did in 2020 when he rushed for 1,557 yards, 16 touchdowns and averaged 5.0 yards per carry while catching 44 passes for 361 yards and 1 touchdown.

That’s the question that must be answered. If the brain trust believes there has been slippage, they can move on from Cook and use a mid- or late-round draft pick to find a new running back. A move away from Cook could save the Vikings $14 million in cap space.

Combine that number with Smith’s cap figure of $15.5 million and the Vikings will have $30 million to allocate to new resources.

But that’s not necessarily the answer to all issues. Cook is more than just a productive running back. He commands respect in the locker room and he has enjoyed his time with the team. Moving on from him will have locker room and game plan ramifications. It’s up to Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell to figure out what the impact of such a move will be.

It will be far easier to make a decision on Smith, who had a decent year with the team in 2022. However, he was much better in his first seven games of the season when he recorded 8.5 of his 10.0 sacks. The former Packer made a quick adjustment to the Vikings, but he simply was not as quick or dangerous in the second half of the year as he was earlier.

The Vikings were a 13-win team in 2023 as Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell built a winning environment that did not exist previously. Change is a constant in the NFL, and while all teams have to move on from aging veterans at one point or another, there are consequences to those changes.

Making the wrong decision by coming to the conclusion that a trusted running back with future Hall of Fame credentials is past his prime can have a ruinous effect if that decision is erroneous.