Over the past few months, the future of veteran running back Dalvin Cook with the Minnesota Vikings has become quite uncertain. But according to recent reports, Cook is expected to be officially released by the team that he’s been with since 2017 on Friday.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, when Cook is officially granted his release, the Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos are two of the teams that are expected to have interest in signing the 27-year-old running back.
The Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos are two of the teams that are expected to have an interest in signing running back Dalvin Cook once he officially is released, per sources. There likely will be others, but those two have been monitoring Cook for weeks.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 8, 2023
A team that Schefter curiously didn’t mention is another AFC contender in the New York Jets, who saw its head coach address rumors about the team’s interest in the free agent back on Friday.
“We’ll turn the stones over on that one,” Robert Saleh said regarding the team’s interest in Cook. “But again, that’d probably be more of a [general manager] Joe [Douglas] question. I’m not sure how the money works on that.”
“We’ll turn the stones over on that one,” Robert Saleh says on RB Dalvin Cook. He adds he’s not sure how the money would work. #Jets
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) June 9, 2023
The Jets have been actively opening up cap space by restructuring contracts left and right. And they recently contacted C.J. Molsey’s agent about reworking the highest-paid player on the team’s deal. However, that doesn’t mean they’re trying to clear up cap room for Cook, as they still have to extend Quinnen Williams and rework Aaron Rodgers’ contract.
Though, as The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt pointed out, Saleh was much more dismissive of the possibility of signing DeAndre Hopkins than Cook.
The Jets understand that with the addition of Aaron Rodgers to the fold, their window to win is now. Breece Hall emerged as one of the best running backs in the NFL last season, but New York is going to be careful with his workload as he returns from an ACL injury.
Gang Green has spent mid-round draft picks on Michael Carter and Israel Abanikanda in recent years, but neither of those backs would preclude the team from doing its due diligence on Cook.
It remains to be seen where the four-time Pro Bowl running back ultimately ends up, but the Jets have certainly presented themselves as an option
[Connor Hughes on Twitter; photo from Matt Krohn/USA TODAY Sports]
