Report: If Vikings draft an RB in Rounds 1-3, expect a Dalvin Cook trade

Dalvin Cook may need to take a pay cut to return to the Vikings.

Is there a team in the NFL with more unanswered questions than the Minnesota Vikings? 

• What's going to happen with Danielle Hunter's contract?
• Is Za'Darius Smith going to be playing for the Vikings in 2023?
• Will Kirk Cousins play out the final year of his contract without future guarantees?
• Will Dalvin Cook be traded or take a big pay cut?

Cook's name has been in the rumor mill for months and the latest report from Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer says Cook's name is one to watch "as a potential trade target this weekend," which is of course during the NFL Draft. 

"The Vikings have been communicative with their star tailback—and receptive to the idea of bringing him back—but it just won’t happen at the rate of $11 million he’s due this fall," writes Breer. "Minnesota hasn’t shopped Cook, but if it comes away with a back in the first three rounds, I’d bet the Vikings will be open to the idea of moving him on Saturday."

That's where it gets really interesting. On Tuesday morning, Vikings play-by-play announcer Paul Allen said on his daily radio show that he foresees three scenarios for the Vikings in the first round Thursday night. 

1. Trade up for an interior pass rusher
2. Trade back to for more picks
3. Trade back and target Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs

Gibbs is considered by most to be the second-best running back in the draft behind Bijan Robinson. The staff at The 33rd Team compares Gibbs to Saints star running back Alvin Kamara. 

Selecting any running back early in the draft would almost guarantee Cook's time in Minnesota is done. The Vikings already brought Alexander Mattison back on a two-year contract and Ty Chandler could get more reps in his second year after being selected in the fifth round of last year's draft. 

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In early April, Cook's agent said the 27-year-old will play with a two healthy shoulders in 2023 for the first time since 2019, though he also referred to the Vikings as a "mediocre" team that limited Cook's production. Odd thing for an agent to say about a team his client plays for, right?

Meanwhile, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler recently said he was told that "all options are on the table" with Cook, including a chance "he could be released if things don't work out."

Cook has a $14.1 million cap hit in 2023. If he's released before June 1 the Vikings save about $5.9 million but still eat around $8.2 million in dead money, according to Over The Cap. Cutting him after June 1 would save $9 million, so if cutting him is the way the Vikings want to go, doing it after June 1 makes the most sense. 

Related: Star Tribune insider predicts the Vikings trade up for Anthony Richardson

Trading him after June 1 would make even more sense (if there's a market for him) because it would save the Vikings $11 million, per Over The Cap. Trading him before or during the draft (or before June 1) would also save Minnesota about $8 million of his $14.1 million cap hit. 

Two weeks ago Breer wrote that it might make the most sense for Cook to take an offer on a restructured deal from Minnesota or risk "hitting a very soft market" as a free agent if he's released.