NFL Trade Rumors: AFC team emerges as frontrunner to land Vikings star RB Dalvin Cook
Dalvin Cook's days as a Minnesota Viking are likely numbered. Reports have surfaced that they'd rather move on from him than pay him his contract, which runs through 2025 and has a salary cap hit ranging from $13.5 million to $15.6 million.
The Vikings may be planning to select a running back in the draft or hand the reigns over to Alexander Mattison, but Cook is more than likely available.
There are several NFL offenses that would benefit from adding him, but there's one team that only needs a running back on offense: the Miami Dolphins. They have two elite wide receivers and a good quarterback, but no semblance of a consistent running game.
Cook is a four-time Pro Bowler and one of the league's best running backs. Pairing him with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle in the passing game would make one of the NFL's most dynamic offenses more threatening.
According to Bleacher Report, the Dolphins have emerged as the frontrunners to land Dalvin Cook if he is dealt during the draft. Miami lost their first-round pick (21st overall) this year as a result of their tampering scandal.
That pick could have gone to Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs to add a dynamic rusher to their offense and make it less one-dimensional, but they may have to settle for making this trade.
What a Dalvin Cook trade package could look like
It likely wouldn't cost all that much for the Miami Dolphins to convince the Vikings to move on from Dalvin Cook. Reports suggest that if they can't find a trade, they'll resort to cutting him to save money.
As such, the Dolphins won't have to fork over what the San Francisco 49ers did for Christian McCaffrey or what some team may have to for Derrick Henry. A couple of late-round picks, like a fifth-round this year and a sixth from next, would likely be more than enough to get Cook to Miami.
His contract is another situation and the Dolphins may have to move some money around to make it work, but it's a move that would cement them as a legitimate contender.