Dalvin Cook's struggles show why the Vikings shouldn't trade for a running back
Dalvin Cook has found his 2023 season at the New York Jets "frustrating" so far, and said a trade "might be a good thing."
Cook signed a one-year, $7 million deal with the Jets in August after being cut from the Vikings in June. The former Vikings running back has rushed for just 109 yards on 39 carries this season for a disappointing 2.8 yards per carry.
"Of course it's frustrating," Cook said Thursday. "I'm an honest person, man. I work. I want to play. That's just anyway. And, yeah, it's frustrating. It's new for me. I come from getting the ball 20 times a game, or however many times. Of course it's frustrating. It's something that I've been adapting to."
Cook's performances this season might come as a surprise if you only paid attention to what national media was saying about the 27-year-old running back after his release from the Vikings.
Cook finished the 2022 season fourth lowest in rushing percentage over expected, meaning he was gaining fewer yards than what was expected of an average running back in his situations.
But the national narrative focused on his big runs against the Bills, Dolphins and Colts that changed games.
After the Vikings cut Cook in June, NFL Network's Rich Eisen said: "A 27-year-old running back, in his prime, four straight thousand-yard seasons, 52 touchdowns is getting released. Because the Vikings don't want to pay him $11 million. For a running back. I just don't understand it."
Cook's yards per carry had fallen for each of the two seasons before his release and running backs typically fall off around their 27/28-year-old seasons, especially if they have been used as heavily as Cook has over the past four season.
The Vikings, rightly, saw the writing on the wall. National commentators like Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio didn't when he complained "it feels like just another day in purple purgatory" after Cook's release.
ESPN went as far as to rank, a then-unsigned, Cook as the eighth best running back in the league ahead of the start of the 2023 season.
Meanwhile, Pat McAfee boldly claimed Justin Jefferson's greatness, in part, was down to having Cook in the backfield. Before his injury Jefferson was neck-and-neck with Tyreek Hill for most receiving yards this season and despite missing the past two weeks still sits top-10 in yards with an, at times, dismal running game.
All of this is to say, despite the struggles in their own running game this season, the Vikings have been proven right in their decision to move on from an overly expensive running back.
Of the top 10 best-paid running backs in the league, only three are on winning teams: Christian McCaffery (49ers), Nick Chubb (Browns) and Bijan Robinson (Falcons). Meanwhile, the Bills, Eagles, Dolphins and Chiefs' top rushers combined cap hits total $6.1 million this season. Those four teams are a combined 22-7 this season.
Kwesi and company shouldn't be lured into the idea, no matter how bad the current run game is, of trading for a Saquon Barkley or Derrick Henry if they are indeed going to be buyers at the deadline.
