Vikings Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook is about to enter the final year of his rookie contract.
It certainly seems like the Vikings want to retain Cook and Cook wants to remain in Minnesota, but what will the cost be?
Cook has faith that the Vikings will get a deal done.
“It’s all a risk when you give any guy a contract in the league,” Cook said via the Pioneer Press. “He could get hurt the next day in practice. So, it’s all a risk. But what if the guy doesn’t get hurt and he goes out there and helps contribute to the Super Bowl and he goes out there and balls out? … It’s all about what the person believes in, what the owners believe in, the GM believes in, and I firmly think the Vikings believe in me.”
We’ve seen how big contracts for running backs can go sour real quick. We just saw the Rams release Todd Gurley because of that.
The top three paid running backs in 2020 will be Le’Veon Bell ($15.4 million), David Johnson ($11.1 million) and Ezekiel Elliott ($10.9 million).
Besides maybe Elliott, those are regrettable deals.
Cook is scheduled to make just more than $2 million in 2020. There’s no doubt that he’s worth more than that, but it’s hard to justify a $10 million-plus deal for a player who has missed 19 games in three seasons in the league already.