Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier and head coach Mike McDaniel have invested a lot into their running back room for the 2023 season, as they have four under contract.
Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson, Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed were all hitting the market this offseason, but all four have returned on at least one-year deals. However, the monetary commitment isn’t too expensive, as the Dolphins are set to pay just $6.76 million in cap hits to their running back room, according to Spotrac.
That money is manageable, and it has some still wondering if Miami will make a big splash at the position.
According to Bookies.com, the Dolphins are currently the favorites to land Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, who appears to be on the outs with his current team. Miami is +250 to be Cook’s 2023 franchise, while the Vikings are second at +300. The Arizona Cardinals (+600), New England Patriots (+750) and Chicago Bears (+1000) round out the pack.
Cook has been an extremely productive running back in his six-year career, making the Pro Bowl in each of the last four seasons. In 73 career games, he’s recorded 5,993 yards and 47 touchdowns on an impressive 4.7 yards per attempt while adding another 1,794 yards and five touchdowns on 221 receptions.
The do-it-all back is from Miami and played his college ball at Florida State, so the connection makes sense, but all conversations about a potential acquisition should consider the price.
Cook is set to make $14.1 million in Minnesota in 2023, and he has two years remaining on his current deal. A team acquiring the former Seminole in a trade would be on the hook for an $11 million cap hit in 2023, $12 million in 2024 and $14.5 million in 2025.
However, if the Dolphins were to wait and see if Cook is released, they may be able to work out a better deal.
At this point, the Dolphins have just over $3 million in cap space, according to Over the Cap, but they’ll get another $13.6 million when Byron Jones’ release becomes official after June 1. That also doesn’t include wide receiver Chosen Anderson’s contract, which was signed recently.
This would certainly make it easier to bring in a top back on a deal that makes sense to them, but with how Miami has dealt with running backs in recent years, committing big money or using a high draft pick on the position just doesn’t feel likely.
