Dalvin Cook ‘Could Be Cut,’ Cowboys Signing Suggested by ESPN

Present the Cowboys with a free-agency bargain on Dalvin Cook, and he merits targeting. But how does ESPN take us from here to there?

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys have been fairly transparent about their plan at running back: The $10 million tagging of Tony Pollard, the sad farewell to Ezekiel Elliott, the insurance signing of Ronald Jones, the young promise of Malik Davis and Rico Dowdle ...

And a lingering itch to draft another one.

The Minnesota Vikings, meanwhile, are also comfortable with the speculation that they might move on from Dalvin Cook, their standout running back who is about to turn 28, is due to count $14 million against the cap and just underwent surgery to hopefully fix a chronic shoulder problem.

Oh, and while Cook is the subject of trade gossip, Minnesota signed his backup - starter-caliber Alexander Mattison - to a two-year deal fully guaranteed at $6 million.

That all looks pretty transparent, too.

And along comes ESPN with a big idea.

It's Bill Barnwell - who has already suggested that the Cowboys could land Derrick Henry if the Titans cut him - that another superstar runner should be in play.

Does Barnwell have his facts in order here? Let's slice it up in three bites ...

1- “The Cowboys could look toward a market that still includes Leonard Fournette, Latavius Murray and Kareem Hunt unsigned,” Barnwell writes.

That's not a very tempting prediction, as if the Cowboys wanted a back who sits at about that tier in his career ... we say they would've simply signed Zeke.

2- Dallas could add a rookie in April's draft, but Tony Pollard's uncertain status for Week 1 leads me to believe the team would probably prefer to have a more experienced back on the roster.”

This one, we can tell you, is flat wrong. The Cowboys do not harbor concerns about Pollard's leg rehab being a lingering one, and the Cowboys absolutely would love to find a rookie sensation in this draft who could supplant Pollard in 2024.

3- “There's also a chance expensive veterans such as Derrick Henry and Dalvin Cook could be released after the draft,'' Barnwell writes, then connecting Dallas to the two name players.

We can't speak to the odds of what Minnesota might do with Dalvin; Barnwell may have insight there that usurps ours. But we can tell you that as with "Derrick to Dallas,'' "Dalvin to Dallas'' is not a product of a quote, a source or even an idea from inside The Star ... but rather, is the product of ESPN's provocative imagination.

Present the Cowboys with a free-agency bargain on Dalvin Cook, and he merits targeting. Heck, his resume is superior even to that of Pollard. In that vein, the very minute that the Vikings really do cut Cook? You, dear reader, will be the first to know what the Cowboys really think about it.

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