The Vikings Decision to Release Dalvin Cook Boiled Down to a Simple Reason
Josh Frey
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On Friday, the Minnesota Vikings officially released their four-time Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook. The move freed up $9 million in cap space for Minnesota while also allowing Cook to join any team he wants.
From early on in the offseason, reports from Darren Wolfson of KTSP came out that Cook would be unwilling to take a pay cut, causing many to assert that the Vikings decision would ultimately be to move on from the running back. This assertion was further backed up by the fact that Alexander Mattison re-signed with the Vikings on a two-year contract.
However, as the offseason wore on, and Cook remained on the Vikings roster after free agency and the draft, there were new reports that he may have changed his mind on the pay cut, leading to a belief that he could have remained in Minnesota for the 2023 season.
At the end of the day, though, it does seem that money was the big reason why Cook is no longer in Minnesota. Recently, on The Rich Eisen Show, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network discussed why the four-time Pro Bowler was ultimately released, and it seems that the two sides simply could not come to an agreement financially:
“[Cook] was never truly, at least from my understanding, never offered a pay cut, but he was not going to restructure his contract for the Vikings, nor was he really going to restructure his contract to facilitate a trade.”
So there we have it. According to this report from Pelissero, which follows Wolfson’s initial reports as well, Cook remained firm throughout the process that he would not restructure his deal. This likely made it impossible to move him via trade without taking on a large chunk of Cook’s money while also getting very little draft capital in return.
Ultimately, the running back is now a free agent, and the Vikings move on in hopes that players like Mattison, Ty Chandler, Kene Nwangwu, and DeWayne McBride can step up and be productive out of the backfield for Minnesota in 2023.
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.