Unsettled situations: Miami Dolphins backfield

Rumors swirling around Miami’s intentions make for a tough prediction.

You have to go back to the 2016 season to find the last time the Miami Dolphins ranked in the upper half of the NFL in rushing. In the six years since, Miami has ranked 29th, 18th, 32nd, 22nd, 30th, and 25th, respectively — last year’s finish represented an average of 99.2 yards per game. Despite limited success in that department under first-year head coach Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins brought back their two leading rushers in running backs Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr., both of whom followed McDaniel from the San Francisco 49ers to Miami.

They didn’t play a pat hand, though, using a third-round pick on RB De’Von Achane, a move that likely signaled the end of the line for holdover RBs Salvon Ahmed and/or Myles Gaskin. Even with that, there’s some belief that the Dolphins aren’t done making moves at the running back position, as they’ve been frequently mentioned as a possible destination for free-agent RB Dalvin Cook, who was released by the Minnesota Vikings in June.

For now, however, Cook remains a free agent, so we’re going to look at what Miami has available in their running back room as of today, and what we might expect from them, barring another move.

The All-22: What Dalvin Cook can bring to his next NFL team

The Vikings will release running back Dalvin Cook if they can’t find a trade partner. Here’s what Cook can bring to his next NFL team.

It was not a well-kept secret that the Minnesota Vikings were going to release running back Dalvin Cook if they couldn’t find a willing trade partner, and per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, that release will happen on Friday, unless there’s a last-minute trade offer. The contract extension Cook signed in 2020 left the Vikings with a cap hit of more than $14.1 million in 2023, more than $15.6 million in 2024, and $14.5 million in 2024. The Vikings will take on a hit over $5.1 million in dead cap this year with his release.

Selected in the second round of the 2017 draft out of Florida State, Cook is coming off his fourth straight 1,000-yard season, though his yards per carry (5.0 in 2020, 4.7 in 2021, and 4.4 in 2022) has dropped in each of the last three seasons. However, Cook forced 52 missed tackles in 2022 per Pro Football Focus, up from his 47 in 2021, and his 3.16 yards per carry after contact in 2022 was an improvement from his 2.73 per carry in 2021.

Last season, Cook had 31 carries of 10 or more yards, and 12 carries of 15 or more yards. He has been more of a zone runner than a gap-scheme guy from a reps perspective, though that may have more to do with the schemes he’s been in than his particular running style.

Let’s get into the tape, and see what Dalvin Cook will bring to his next NFL team.