Let the Bills backfield cook? Or become the Cooks?
James Cook wouldn’t mind either option.
Dalvin Cook, his brother, has been a named tossed in trade discussions this offseason. The Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowler was noted in another this week from a reliable insider.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Vikes are “open for business” regarding Dalvin Cook’s services and “multiple teams are involved.” If the 27-year-old is on the move, James Cook hinted he likes the idea of the Buffalo Bills being one of those clubs.
James Cook dropped this suggestive message on his social media account via Twitter, from the eyeball emoji down to outright tagging the Bills team account:
đź‘€@dalvincook @BuffaloBills https://t.co/Ggh1IgOu3j
— James Cook (@thegreat__4) March 14, 2023
In 2022, Dalvin Cook earned his fourth-career Pro Bowl. He rushed for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns.
With Devin Singletary a pending free agent, there’s room for Dalvin Cook. Not to mention, he has the profile of an early-down running back which could perfectly complement James Cook’s pass-catching prowess.
The big issue here is more Dalvin Cook’s contract.
Signed through the 2025 season, his salary cap hit in each of the next three years are $14.1 million, $15.6M, and $13.5M per Spotrac. The Vikings might move him because there are salary cap savings to be found in each of those years, however, the Bills and any other future team would likely sign him to a new contract.
Last offseason, Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane did a trade and new contract type of deal with the Cleveland Browns and quarterback Case Keenum. In a perfect world, James Cook could be a bit of a convincing middle ground to help his brother get such a deal done with the Bills.
Bare minimum, we know the current Bill doesn’t think you can have too many Cooks in the backfield kitchen.
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