The Minnesota Vikings were one of the surprises last season under first-year head coach Kevin O’Connell. In 2022 they also hired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as their new general manager, and he seems ready to make big moves.
Minnesota has already parted ways with long-time wide receiver Adam Thielen. Despite his history with the franchise, the team released him because he was set to have a very high cap hit. That can be repeated with another top offensive weapon like Dalvin Cook.
The Vikings finished as NFC North champions with a 13-4 record before losing in the wild card round at home vs the New York Giants. They seem to be close given how open the NFC is and Cook can definitely help them, although they don’t seem too convinced based on his price tag.
Vikings GM leaves the door open for a Dalvin Cook trade
There is no doubt the running back is a very helpful piece for the offense. His ability to contribute on the ground as well as a pass-catcher makes him their most utilized player. However, resigning Alexander Mattison in free agency was something that gave the team a proven backup if they were to move on from their starter.
Cook has three seasons remaining from the five-year extension he signed in 2020. He currently has a 14.1 million cap hit for 2023, so those are resources that could be better allocated in a huge team need like defense. It’s an interesting situation because Minnesota can create near 7.9M in cap space if they trade the RB before June 1, according to Spotrac.
This context makes Adofo-Mensah’s words even more interesting since he didn’t confirm a roster spot for Cook in the Vikings. “Conversations are always ongoing with him. We’re trying to be solutions-oriented and always try to put the roster together within our constraints“, he said per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. Despite not being too assertive, his decision to not confirm that a Pro Bowl RB like Cook will be on the team can certainly make other teams follow this story more closely.
