The Minnesota Vikings and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have their work cut out for them this offseason. With many roster holes and aging veterans eating up a large portion of the cap, there are bound to be some tough decisions.
Luckily for the Vikings, this week is the NFL Scouting Combine, and there are plenty of opportunities to have conversations with other teams and agents so that they can start the process of building their roster for the 2023 season.
On Tuesday, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero joined KFAN’s Paul Allen’s “9 to Noon” show and shed some light on Dalvin Cook, who many have anticipated could be on his way out of Minnesota.
“He’s got two million that becomes fully guaranteed next week. He’s coming off shoulder surgery. So that money is locked in already. I would anticipate he’s absolutely on the team”
“I would anticipate he’s (Dalvin Cook) absolutely on the team” –@TomPelissero pic.twitter.com/jyxdpmAhoU
— Matt Anderson (@MattAnderson_8) March 1, 2023
This news is different than most of the speculation we’ve heard throughout the offseason. That being said, from a financial perspective, it could make sense for the Vikings to ride this season out with Cook and move on from him next offseason.
The Vikings wouldn’t gain much cap space from cutting or trading Cook this offseason. Next offseason, the Vikings can move on from Cook and save $12.5 million in cap space while only taking on $3.1 million in dead cap.
While Kevin O’Connell’s offense doesn’t cater to the run as much as the previous regime, Cook still finished eighth in rushing last season with 1,243 yards, and it sounds like he’ll get another opportunity to build on that next season in Minnesota.
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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsgLOJ5mFeY]