Getty Dalvin Cook has garnered interest among several fan NFL fan bases.
Former Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook isn’t in a rush to join a new team with the NFL on its summer break.
However, Cook is currying favor from afar with his Twitter activity.
Cook has liked numerous Twitter posts linking him to the New York Jets, whose acquisition of Aaron Rodgers has catapulted New York into contender territory.
Most recently, Cook liked and shared a video posted by Heavy’s Paul Esden Jr. where former Vikings tight end Tyler Conklin speculated on the possibility of Cook joining Rodgers and Co. on Good Morning Football.
“There’s plenty of room. We’ve got room for whoever wants to come help us win a Super Bowl,” Conklin said on June 26. “Me and Dalvin, we were basically locker mates my first couple years. He’s an awesome guy. I reached out to him like, ‘Are the rumors true? Is this actually possible?’ That would be a special backfield.”
OH BABY: @TomPelissero asked Tyler Conklin (@T_Conk1) if there’s room in the #Jets universe for Dalvin Cook (@dalvincook)? ‘Oh there’s plenty of room, we’ve got room for whoever wants to come help us win a #SuperBowl’ 👀 🎥 @gmfb #TakeFlight
Cook has also liked tweets linking him to the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots.
Most national media reports have penned Cook to sign before training camps start in late July, however, Ian Rapoport said on “The Pat McAfee Show” that if an offer isn’t perfect for Cook, he could see the running back “waiting longer.”
Kirk Cousins Leaves Door Open for Dalvin Cook to Return to Vikings
The Vikings’ release of Cook came down to finances as the four-time Pro Bowler carried a $14.1 million cap hit for the 2023 season. As Minnesota’s offense has evolved with Justin Jefferson, paying a running back that much goes against the new regime’s team-building philosophy.
But despite the divorce which included Cook’s agent bad-mouthing the Vikings, Kirk Cousins extended an olive branch — that he’s still holding onto hope that Cook could come back to Minnesota.
“I’m excited to see where he goes, I’ll always be pulling for him, and I’m kind of optimistically hoping we get him back — who knows,” Cousins said in a June 14 media conference. “Maybe there’s an outside chance. We’ll see.”
For a player as media savvy as Cousins, that likely wasn’t an empty gesture or a slip of the tongue.
Cook is still loved in the organization and could realistically be welcomed back — but at a price that Cook may not be willing to cede to given the interest he’s garnering around the league.
Alexander Mattison Breaks Silence on Dalvin Cook’s Release
Last year, the biggest speculation surrounding the running back room was not Cook, but his backup, Alexander Mattison.
Mattison was a pending free agent and garnered trade interest around the league after a report that the Vikings were “listening to offers” was leaked by Heavy’s Matt Lombardo.
But after the season’s end, the tone started to shift with speculation surrounding Cook’s future. Mattison signing a two-year, $7 million contract that is nearly fully guaranteed in March spelled that the Vikings would be going a different direction with its running back room in 2023 — with Mattison leading the charge.
But as weeks went on and Cook remained on the roster, there was the possibility that Cook could stay in Minnesota until he was finally released on June 9.
Mattison spoke on SiriusXM NFL last week about his time with Cook and how valuable he was to his career and how different this season will be without him.
“I’m thankful for having Dalvin in that running back room and challenging me to challenge him every single day, so that kind of helped me out within my preparation,” Mattison said. “Yeah, with that understanding of knowing kind of where my role is going to be and maximize it.
“I’ve been a lot more prepared in the way of understanding where I’m going to be at in the playbook, where I’m going to have to be at physically, you know, stamina. It’s just a whole bunch that I have to now take into account but without applying too much pressure, of course, because this is a game of ball that we have grown to love and grown to adapt to at all different levels. I’m definitely comfortable as a professional athlete and understanding what I have to do to get the job done. Now just cranking that thing up and getting ready for this opportunity that I have in front of me.”