Report: Vikings Have Received Trade Offer on RB Dalvin Cook

Could the Vikings end up moving Cook this offseason?

The Vikings have received a trade offer on running back Dalvin Cook, according to KSTP insider Darren Wolfson on SKOR North's Mackey & Judd.

"I did hear that there is an offer in on Dalvin Cook," Wolfson said. "So if they wanted to trade Dalvin Cook, there is an interested team. I don't know the pick, I don't know if it's a seventh-round pick, a fifth-round pick. And I don't even know if the Vikings are willing to say 'OK, yeah, let's do that,' I just know that there is trade interest."

Well then. Wolfson reported last month that Cook is not interested in taking a pay cut, so a trade is an intriguing option.

For a variety of reasons, it would make sense if the Vikings were considering moving on from Cook this offseason. GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has an analytics background, and modern football analytics broadly suggest that paying running backs big money is a poor allocation of resources. Cook has a $14.1 million cap hit in 2023 and two more years after that on the five-year contract extension he signed in 2020. He's also coming off a season in which his advanced metrics cratered as the Vikings' running game struggled — and he turns 28 this summer. Given the Vikings' cap space issues, getting younger and cheaper at running back could be in their plans.

If the Vikings were to trade Cook, they wouldn't be getting much of a return because of his contract. But even if it's for a late-round pick, should Adofo-Mensah consider it? The Vikings would clear $7.9 million in cap space (while eating $6.2 million in dead money) by trading Cook before June 1st, and they'd also get his contract off the books for the next two seasons. Minnesota has young RBs Kene Nwangwu and Ty Chandler waiting in the wings, and they could add to that room via free agency or the draft. Alexander Mattison, Cook's backup for the last four years, is a free agent.

Who might be interested in trading for Cook? Wolfson mentioned the Falcons and Jaguars as teams he's heard are in the market for a running back, though not necessarily Cook. The Broncos, Bills, and Dolphins could also be fits, among other teams. Even if his advanced metrics were poor in 2022, Cook is still a four-time Pro Bowler on the back end of his prime. He's a dynamic all-around back who has averaged 1,606 yards from scrimmage and 11.5 touchdowns per year over the past four seasons. It makes sense that there would be some trade interest out there, even considering Cook's age and contract.

Stay tuned.

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