Dalvin Cook May Be Having 2nd Thoughts About Leaving Vikings

All offseason long, the storyline surrounding Minnesota Vikings’ running back, Dalvin Cook, has been mostly the same. He is due to be paid a lot of non-guaranteed money ($9.5million) under his current contract that Kwesi & Co do not seem willing to pay. That means, the nearly 28-year-old Cook will have to restructure his deal and take a pay cut, much like Harrison Smith did earlier this offseason, if he wants to remain with the Vikings.

Cook, as has already been reported, is unwilling to agree to such things. Thus, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been shopping him on the trade market trying to find a team who likes Dalvin enough to take on a large chunk of his 2023 salary. So far, the Vikings GM has had no such luck and all signs point to the Vikings cutting Dalvin after June 1.

Could Dalvin Cook be having a change of heart?

But, not so fast. On Thursday’s episode of Mackey & Judd (SKOR North), Darren “Doogie” Wolfson reported that a pretty reliable source thinks Dalvin Cook may be having 2nd thoughts about refusing a pay cut to leave Minnesota for greener pastures…

“I had somebody in the know, right, somebody I trust enough, although I haven’t got deep enough quite yet, but this person told me to check on the idea that Dalvin is having a change of heart [on taking a pay cut with the Vikings] and it’s possible — you look at the landscape of the league like who really needs a running back — you look at Austin Eckler, he reworked his deal this week to remain a charger. Could something comparable happen where the possibility exists that Dalvin Cook is in purple — Vikings purple not Ravens purple or some other purple — Vikings purple in 2023.”

Darren Wolfson – Mackey & Judd (SKOR North)

Wolfson has said for months that he believes Dalvin Cook will play somewhere other than Minnesota in 2023-24 and, until he hears differently from someone in Dalvin’s camp, reiterated that belief on Thursday. But Doogie seems to trust the source that is feeding him this information and went on to talk about how intrigued he is by what they told him.

“I’m just saying it’s something I need to dig a little bit deeper into but the possibility exists that Dalvin will rework his deal, take some sort of cut, realize that there really isn’t another opportunity out there Miami drafted a running back relatively high. Like, who really truly needs a running back? Maybe Chicago? You can make a case for a few teams, right, and Dalvin, I think, would help a lot of teams. But can he make more money taking a cut [in Minnesota], allah Harrison Smith, versus testing the market. So just the idea that maybe, just maybe, Dalvin is here in 2023. So that’s a pretty intriguing possibility.”

Darren Wolfson – Mackey & Judd (SKOR North)

If you’re a Dalvin Cook superfan, I wouldn’t put your #4 jersey back on just yet. But Wolfson’s scoop today is the most positive development, for those hoping for Cook’s return.

Alexander Mattison would not be happy about Dalvin Cook returning

There’s one person, however, that the above report might piss off. That’s Dalvin Cook’s backfield teammate, Alexander Mattison. According to Doogie, Mattison was told by Vikings brass, when he re-signed earlier this offseason, that there was “a strong understanding” Cook would not be returning next season.

Mattison (No. 2 on his jersey and the current Vikings depth chart) met with media recently and wouldn’t admit that he wants Cook to move on, but he or someone close to him certainly is telling Wolfson that.

“Judd, you tried hard in your conversation with Mattison on Tuesday, trying to pry some information out of Alexander. I know Alexander wanted to say a lot more than he did. That was very calculated. He’s a very smart guy. He knew the questions were coming, he was going to be very, very guarded. I’m just telling you, deep down, Alexander’s got a lot more to say there on Dalvin, who is one of his best friends, no denying that. But Alexander is also waiting to cherish this opportunity. A career low usage last year, all that. Like, he’s ready to have a much bigger role here in 2023.”

“Let me make this very clear, when Mattison decided to re-sign here, it was with the strong understanding, not written guarantee, but strong understanding that Dalvin Cook was moving on.”

Darren Wolfson – Mackey & Judd (SKOR North)

Oh boy… stay tuned!

Here is the full episode of Mackey & Judd today, with Darren Wolfson. The Dalvin Cook talk begins at the 03:15 mark and continues at the 14:35 mark.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan