Two Teams Were Reportedly Willing to Trade For Dalvin Cook This Offseason

The Vikings released Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook earlier this month, clearing up cap space in 2023 and beyond. The move came after a lengthy limbo period for Cook, which included plenty of speculation about a possible trade.

According to ESPN's Jeff Darlington, the Dolphins and one other team made trade offers for Cook this offseason.

"The Miami Dolphins were one of the two teams that were willing to trade for him earlier this offseason," Darlington said on NFL Live. "Ultimately couldn't get the compensation right."

Before you criticize Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, let's think about this logically. There's a reason why Adofo-Mensah passed on those trade offers, whatever they may have been. They almost certainly would've included the Vikings taking on a portion of Cook's salary — and potentially a large chunk of it. Adofo-Mensah obviously didn't pass on any deal that would've gotten even a seventh-round pick back in exchange for a team taking on Cook's entire contract.

There must've been a sweet spot in terms of draft compensation and money eaten that would've led the Vikings to accept a trade, but clearly, no team was willing to go there. And thus, the Vikings decided to wait it out and eventually release Cook, clearing up $9 million in cap space with $5.1 million in dead money.

Everything is give-and-take in trade negotiations. Just because there was interest out there doesn't mean the Vikings were wrong to not come away with a trade. In this case, they thought releasing Cook made the most sense from a financial standpoint.

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all offseason long. Also, follow me on Twitter and feel free to ask me any questions on there.