It sounds like the Vikings and Dalvin Cook are on better terms than they were a few weeks ago. The star running back has indicated that he will not hold out from the team, according to head coach Mike Zimmer, who adds that he is going to make him a team captain in 2020 (via PFT). 
[RELATED: Cook Seeking $15MM/Year?]
Cook is set to make $1.331MM in his walk year. Meanwhile, he’s been angling for a long-term deal that will make him one of the league’s highest-paid running backs. That’s a difficult proposition for a number of reasons. First, there’s the current economic climate. There’s also the matter of Cook’s track record – he was stellar in 2019, but often injured in his previous seasons.
Cook averaged almost 5.0 ypc in his first four games as a pro, before going down with an ACL tear. In 2018, a nagging hamstring capped him at just eleven games, though he did manage 4.6 yards per tote, plus 40 catches for 305 yards. Last year, he put up career highs left and right –250 carries, 1,135 rushing yards (4.5 YPC), and 13 touchdowns, along with 53 receptions for 519 yards. Those totals would have been even gaudier, if not for a late-season chest injury.
Christian McCaffrey blew the lid off of the RB market earlier this year, perhaps paving the way for Cook to secure an even larger bag. Eventually, Cook could get the eight-figure-per-year salary he wants, but it probably won’t happen this week. The COVID-19 opt out option is Cook’s last real piece of leverage, but it doesn’t sound like he’ll take advantage of that threat.
Please don’t hinder the payroll on a rb….Cook IS good . I am not saying he isn’t . But the RB position is over rated. You win with superior line play and a solid QB. The Vikings are far from superior on the O-line….I believe they are improving , but still have work to do there that should be done before the RB position. Plus Cook has yet to put together even close to a full season yet.
Cook should be signed on an incentive-based deal similar to the structure of Mosterst’s contract. That way, if he stays healthy and plays on an all-pro level, he’ll get paid at an elite rate. Conversely, if he struggled to stay healthy, the Vikings won’t have to deal with the repercussions of a sunken cost
Well you definitely aren’t an agent cause that’s a horrible deal. Coming off his best season and as a 2nd round pick he doesn’t have a 5th year option he’s lining himself up for a good pay day if he can stay healthy and be productive next 2 years.
Well, the problem for Cook is that he hasn’t been healthy, hence the reluctance on the part of the Vikings. To your point, that is why he should want guaranteed money, but there is no way he’ll get what he is asking for in guarantees with his availability issues, from the team’s perspective. Incentives would be his only chance to reach that level of pay, or via free agency from a team who is less personally familiar with his missing games.