Dalvin Cook goes all-out on Dolphins pitch, wants ‘Cinderella story’ in Miami
Dalvin Cook is a wanted man these days, for kinda-sorta the right reasons.
After the Minnesota Vikings released the vaunted playmaker, a number of teams were credited with an interest in the running back.
The league-wide expectation was that Cook would rather land on a Super Bowl contender, which kinda-sorta narrows his options down to two teams: the Jets and the Dolphins.
With a trip to New York on the schedule this weekend, Cook made an appearance on Good Morning Football to talk about his plans. Speaking on the Dolphins' interest, he said:
"Playing in my hometown would mean so much for me, my community, for my family, just everything around me.
"Just a Cinderella story."
@KyleBrandt Now Cook asked by @RyanDLeaf about playing for the #Dolphins: “Yeah, I’m still weighing my options. This thing is not over. Playing in my hometown would mean so much for me, my community, for my family, just everything around me. Just a Cinderella story. It’s just something that… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Cook, of course, is a Florida man himself. He led Miami Central High School to a 52-5 record, rushing for 4,268 yards and scoring 64 touchdowns for the team. He then played college football at Florida State from 2014 to 2016.
Why did the Vikings release Dalvin Cook?
On the face of it, it seems Minnesota deemed his contract a bit burdensome for 2023.
This season, Cook would carry a cap hit of $14 million, a figure that would've risen to $15.6 million and $13.5 million the year after. His Vikings contract was slated to run out in 2026.
Do the Jets have a shot at landing Dalvin Cook?
Tony Pauline spoke to NFL personnel this week to test the waters. Here's what he had to say:
"Multiple league insiders I’ve spoken with point to a variety of factors as to why they believe the Jets won’t allow Cook to leave the facility before signing him to a contract. The primary reason is the injury Breece Hall suffered last year."
Considering the Jets just saved quite a bit of money with Aaron Rodgers taking a $35 million paycut, it seems the franchise is willing to go to war for Dalvin Cook.
The Jets would also have to outbid the Dolphins for a potential move, considering state taxes are also in play.