Dalvin Cook is officially available, with news coming out Thursday that the Vikings will release him if they can’t find a trade partner by the end of the week. The seventh-year running back, who will turn 28 before the start of the season, has made the Pro Bowl each year since 2019. He has not rushed for fewer than 1,100 yards in a season since ’18 and has rushed for 43 touchdowns in the past four seasons.
This is about as excited as we can get about a 28-year-old running back who may end up as more of a complementary, rotational piece during the 2023 season than a feature back. The Vikings were high enough on Alexander Mattison to comfortably move on from Cook before the start of training camp. Their relatively thin backfield should be kept in mind when we wonder how a player this noteworthy has emerged on the market (meaning the Vikings may have seen him as not just expensive but very expendable).
Still, there will be a market. Cook and Ezekiel Elliott remain capable veteran bodies who can be a net positive to an offense, even if they may not end up being pace-setting backs anymore. Here we’ll explore a few places where Cook may fit.
