Most of the Minnesota Vikings‘ contract negotiations this offseason have remained hushed approaching the free agency period next month.
However, the opposite could be said from Dalvin Cook‘s camp, who have aired their grievances with Minnesota many times.
Amid speculation that Minnesota may move on Cook, the veteran running back’s camp leaked that he is unwilling to take a pay cut.
On Monday, Cook’s agent, Zac Hiller, added insult to injury, sharing a highlight video of Cook on his Instagram story on February 27 with a disheartening caption: “Now just picture they actually knew how to call run plays too !”
Heavy reached out to Hiller for comment on the now-deleted post. He did not respond.
Entering the 2023 season, Cook carries the highest cap hit in his career as a Viking this upcoming season — a $14.1 million bill that Minnesota may not be willing to front with the organization currently $24.4 million over the salary cap, per Over The Cap.
However, Cook also is unwilling to concede by taking a pay cut, KSTP’s Darren Wolfson revealed on the SKOR North podcast earlier this month.
“Right now, as we sit here on February 7, Dalvin is not inclined to take a pay cut,” Wolfson said. “My sense is, right now, Dalvin has told some people close to him that ‘Hey, there’s no reason for me to take a pay cut.’ If the Vikings want to, there can be a trade market out there.”
Cook underwent shoulder surgery on February 14, which could hurt his stock in a potential trade, although, Hiller took to Twitter to argue that the four-time Pro Bowler should be back and better than ever after posting the second-most yards from scrimmage since 2019 despite playing through the lingering shoulder injury.
“[Numbers] don’t lie. Can’t even imagine this coming year now,” Hiller tweeted.
Dalvin Cook Regressed in 2022, Vikings Did Him No Favors
Cook’s quandary with the Vikings comes amid a change in offensive philosophy under Kevin O’Connell. Minnesota attempted the most passes (684) in franchise history. However, Cook remained an integral part of the offense.
Playing every game for the first time in his season, Cook was adored by O’Connell who deployed him a career-high 813 snaps, 68% more than his average over the past five seasons, according to ESPN. In turn, Alexander Mattison, who is a pending free agent, saw a career-low 89 touches last season.
Cook dominating usage in the running back room is evidence of O’Connell’s commitment to creating the “illusion of complexity,” a philosophy he’s instilled in keeping defenses guessing by running numerous plays out of similar formations. As a true dual threat in the backfield, Cook presents more confusion than any back in the Vikings locker room in his ability as a three-down bell cow and pass catcher. He even lined up as a receiver during the preseason, a look O’Connell ultimately didn’t deploy as frequently as expected.
That puts the Vikings in a predicament of what to do with Cook.
His efficiency fell off a cliff in 2022. Cook led the NFL with 62 rushes of zero or negative yards, nearly a quarter of his total carries, per ESPN. According to Pro Football Focus, Cook left plenty out on the field, gaining 200 yards fewer than an average running back in the league on his opportunities — the most of any starting running back.
final total rushing yards over expected leaderboard for the 2022 regular season
travis etienne barely edges out nick chubb as the RYOE leader with aaron jones having another great season
However, a case can be made that Cook wasn’t afforded the same opportunities to thrive as he had earlier in his career due to poor run-blocking by a battered offensive line late in the season.
“It will be up to Adofo-Mensah to determine if that [regression] was because he was slower to hit the hole, if his explosiveness has faded, or if the Vikings’ offensive line and scheme were largely to blame,” ESPN’s Kevin Seifert wrote in a January 26 article. “Anecdotally, he faced numerous instances of backfield penetration, and first contact with a defender came after 2.8 yards on average — the lowest mark of his career.”
Vikings Express They Didn’t Use Dalvin Cook How They Anticipated
Although Cook has shown signs of regression, the Vikings made a gesture during his exit interview that shows parting ways with him could be much easier said than done.
“In the exit interview with Dalvin, I’m led to believe they told him, ‘Hey, this wasn’t necessarily our plan to pass the ball as much as we did. There was some lost opportunities to get you the ball,” Wolfson said.
Wolfson added that general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was touting that the Vikings would run the ball a decent amount at the 2022 NFL combine.
That plan didn’t materialize accordingly. The Vikings averaged 42.9 dropbacks per game, the most for a Minnesota team since at least 2000, and their average of 23.7 rushes per game was the third-lowest over the same span, per ESPN.
Minnesota must assess the rest of the roster and determine whether keeping Cook at the highest cap hit of his career is worth its weight on the cap sheet.
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Vikings, Dalvin Cook Contract Talks Get Ugly After Agent Bad Mouths Team