Getty Head coach Kevin O'Connell of the Minnesota Vikings watches during warmups alongside quarterback Kirk Cousins prior to a game against the Chicago Bears in January 2023.
The Minnesota Vikings have ushered out much of the old as the franchise looks to begin anew, but some reunions are simply too splashy to pass up.
For months on end, a primary talking point among Minnesota media and fans was the question of what the team would do with running back Dalvin Cook. Release or trade? Pre-June 1 or after? Return and restructure? At one point or another, every option appeared to be on the table. Now, more than a month after the Vikings cut Cook loose to test the free agent market, speculation about a potential reunion has begun.
The talk feels strange and unlikely, but it isn’t an altogether unrealistic possibility. Cook has spent his entire six-year career in Minnesota. The Vikings drafted him, then signed him to a massive extension. A new regime led by general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah wasn’t willing to foot a $14.1 million salary cap bill to keep the RB in purple and gold in 2023, choosing ultimately to release Cook in the interest of saving $9 million.
However, Minnesota was willing to discuss the rusher’s return to the fold at a lower price point, which proved a non-starter for Cook at the time. But after weeks of presumed negotiations with other teams, the four-time Pro Bowler remains absent a new home. Everyone involved knows what Cook is capable of in Kevin O’Connell’s offense, after he ran for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns last season to go along with 295 receiving yards and two scores, per Pro Football Reference.
If common sense prevails over ego, which is a tenuous proposition anywhere in professional sports, a reunion between the Vikings and Cook could make sense on both sides.
Vikings Field Minimal Experience Behind Alexander Mattison, Bolstering Case for Dalvin Cook Return
GettyFormer Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook remains a free agent more than a month after the franchise released him in June 2023.
Nik Edlund of FanSided’s The Viking Age on Friday, July 14, pitched a proposal sending Cook back to Minnesota.
The Vikings recently released [Cook], but what if they actually look to bring him back? This may seem far-fetched at the moment, but a few months back Minnesota held on to Cook a little longer than many expected, saying they “wanted to do right by Dalvin.” Perhaps this philosophy will keep the door open for him to come back at a lower price.
Cook was making too much money, but there were plenty of times he provided the spark Minnesota’s offense needed. He had key runs in the victory over the Buffalo Bills and in the comeback win over the [Indianapolis] Colts.
If the season began today, the Vikings would start Alexander Mattison at running back. The team signed Cook’s former backup to a two-year contract extension worth $7 million this offseason.
As of Friday, second-year RB Ty Chandler slotted in as No. 2 on the depth chart, followed by seventh-round rookie DeWayne McBride and return specialist Kene Nwangwu, per ESPN. The trio has logged a total of 28 rushing attempts in the NFL between them, gaining 95 yards and scoring zero touchdowns.
Vikings Recently Made Dalvin Cook Offer to Rejoin Roster
GettyFormer Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook cuts past a Chicago Bears defender during an NFL game.
Vikings brass is more aware than anyone of how thin the running back group is, which explains a July 10 report from Boomer Esiason of CBS Sports that Minnesota has offered Cook a deal to return home since releasing him.
“There is a $7 million offer on the table for him to accept in Minnesota if he wants to go back,” Esiason reported on WFAN’s Boomer and Gio.
Esiason added that he doesn’t believe Cook is currently interested in a return to the purple and gold, but that the running back’s agent is using the Vikings’ offer in attempts to press other teams for better deals.
The Miami Dolphins have been linked to Cook since well before the NFL Draft in late April, though he turned down Miami’s most recent offer. Assuming Esiason is correct, Cook’s position on a return to the Vikings should soften with time if no other big-time offers materialize. That is the most likely outcome based on what appears to be a lack of interest around the NFL in Cook at his current price point.