The purge of 2023 continued Thursday at TCO Performance Center.
Running back Dalvin Cook reportedly was told he will become the latest Vikings veteran to be jettisoned, joining Adam Thielen, Eric Kendricks, Patrick Peterson, Za’Darius Smith and Dalvin Tomlinson. Thielen, Kendricks and Cook were released, while Peterson and Tomlinson left as free agents and Smith was traded.
Cook’s departure has been assumed since the end of the season — his salary-cap hit of $14.1 million was considered far too high — so the only question now is whether he will be released on Friday, or could the Vikings potentially work out a trade on Thursday? The former is much more likely than the latter.
So what do all of these changes mean for the Vikings? Let’s examine.
A makeover a year in the making
Cook, Thielen (now in Carolina) and Kendricks (now with the L.A. Chargers) were three of the Vikings’ eight captains last season and were longtime members of the team. But Thielen will be 33, Kendricks 31 and Cook 28 this coming season.
Their departures point to general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s desire to get younger and not pay big salaries for players who no longer perform at the level they once did.
Cook has battled injuries throughout his career, although he did play in every regular-season game last season for the first time, and the Vikings found a cheaper option at running back by retaining Alexander Mattison on a two-year, $7 million contract. Ty Chandler, Kene Nwangwu and seventh-round pick DeWayne McBride also will compete to be in the running back rotation.
It was somewhat surprising that Adofo-Mensah didn’t shop some of the Vikings veterans after he became GM following the 2021 season, but ownership seemed intent on running it back.
It worked, at least in the regular season, as the Vikings won 13 games and the NFC North title, but Adofo-Mensah is now putting his stamp on things and that means some familiar names are in new places.
That might upset some but it’s absolutely the right move.
Why did Dalvin Cook have to go?
There was some talk about whether Cook might agree to a restructured and lesser deal with the Vikings, but that never seemed realistic. While Cook is unlikely to make anywhere near the $11 million he was set to get from the Vikings in 2023, taking a pay cut in a place like Miami will be easier to accept.
Cook was the Vikings’ top running back for the majority of his six seasons in Minnesota and accepting a pay cut and a reduced role would have been difficult to take. Cook led Minnesota with 264 carries last season. It’s unlikely Mattison will approach that number as coach Kevin O’Connell goes to a running back by committee system.
For that reason, it made sense for this divorce to take place. But there is one question about the timing of the move.
Why did it take so long?
Cook will be owned $2 million by the Vikings when he’s released, but the team will save $9 million in salary-cap space and take a $5.1 million hit in dead money on the 2023 cap. Per PFF and Over The Cap’s Brad Spielberger, the Vikings will likely get that back due to offsetting language in his next contract.
If Cook had been released before June 1, the Vikings’ cap savings would have been $5.9 million and the dead money $8.2 million. A trade before June, would have freed up $7.9 million in cap room and left $6.2 million in dead money.
The timing of this move does make sense when considering the savings. But did Adofo-Mensah make a mistake by not getting something in return for Cook, even if the cap savings weren’t as substantial?
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated recently reported the Vikings and Dolphins nearly completed a trade in March. Breer didn’t say what the compensation would have been, but you have to assume it was at least one pick in the 2023 draft.
Adofo-Mensah might not have made the deal because he thought he could get a higher pick for Cook, but that never happened. It’s a long shot that Cook gets traded now, meaning he will walk away for nothing.
Any trade talks could have been impacted by the fact Cook had surgery to repair a torn labrum in February, but that might have been more reason for Adofo-Mensah to take what he could get.
The financial reality for running backs
While Cook’s salary-cap number for 2023 was set at $14.1 million, the top four running backs on the depth chart now will have a combined cap figure of $5.25 million.
It literally no longer pays to be a running back in this league and Cook isn’t the only one finding this out. Veterans Ezekiel Elliott, Leonard Fournette and Kareem Hunt also are looking for work. None of them have reached the age of 30, but the wear-and-tear of the position devalues them quickly.
The Vikings are unlikely to ever again give a running back the type of second contracts that Adrian Peterson and Cook got.
A second-round pick in 2017, Cook rushed for more than 1,000 yards in four consecutive seasons (2019 to 2022) and was named to the Pro Bowl each year. He will finish his Vikings career with 47 rushing touchdowns and five receiving.
Cook wasn’t as dynamic as Peterson during his time with the Vikings, but he was a more complete player. Peterson, however, is a lock to be in the Vikings’ Ring of Honor. Cook is probably a long shot.
