Dalvin Cook Has Reportedly Received “a Lot of Interest” in Free Agency
A little over a week ago, Dalvin Cook was officially released by the Minnesota Vikings, meaning he would be free to sign with any team he chooses for the 2023 season. The motivation behind this release largely was financially based, seeing as Minnesota saved $9 million against the cap in 2023 and even more in future years.
That being said, Cook is still a very talented running back, coming off his fourth consecutive season with 1100+ rushing yards. While 28 years of age is on the older side for a running back, he should still have a few years left of quality production left in him for a team that is in need of some stability in their backfield.
As a result of this talent, recent reports have suggested that Cook has received lots of interest on the free agency front over the past week or so. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported on SportsCenter that while the interest is there, the running back is in no hurry to find a new team right now.
“I’m told he’s willing to be patient here, not in a major rush to sign. And he could wait for Barkley and those other franchise-tag running backs because that’s new contract comps that he can work with to see what’s out there. He’s been linked to Miami. There could be teams like Denver that could be looking for an extra running back. So, a lot of interest so far. I’m told that Dalvin feels really good coming off that torn labrum surgery. He believes he’ll be able to absorb contact even better this year.”
Seeing as there is still over a month until training camp, and there will be no official NFL team activities for the rest of the summer until late July, it makes sense for Cook to sit back and weigh his options rather than rushing into a decision.
Fowler has been on top of this story from the very beginning, reporting back in March that the team Vikings would be interested in moving on from Cook and bringing back Alexander Mattison in free agency. Three months later, that has been proven entirely correct.
As Fowler suggests in the quote above, there have been a number of teams linked to Cook in recent weeks as well, so he shouldn’t have too much trouble finding a team when the time comes for him to sign a new contract. It will certainly be strange to see the veteran suiting up in colors other than purple and gold when Week 1 arrives, though.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.