The contract standoff between the Minnesota Vikings and Dalvin Cook has been about as friendly as one could hope — in the public eye, at least.
Through months of negotiations, both sides have remained respectful. Cook held out for some of the Vikings’ virtual meetings in late spring, but he never missed a day of practice once players were allowed to report and repeatedly voiced that he’d be ready to play Week 1 with or without a contract. The team, meanwhile, expressed its desire to keep him around, lauding his value to the organization and even naming him a 2020 captain. To reduce injury risk they practiced him sparingly during 11-on-11 drills.
Yet a disconnect remains between the two sides at the negotiating table. Cook spoke with reporters four days before the team’s season opener, still empty-handed as other backs around the league inked new contracts. Tennessee’s Derrick Henry and Cincinnati’s Joe Mixon have already signed large deals, and New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara could be next. The Vikings’ fourth-year back reportedly rebuffed Minnesota’s latest offer, leading to their current impasse, and made clear on Wednesday that the issue at hand was one of “value.”
“You go out and bust your tail and do what you’ve got to do and you expect a reward to come behind that,” Cook said. “I just hope the Vikings and my agent come to an agreement of a deal that values me. Until then, I’ve just got to wait my turn.”
Mixon and Henry signed deals set to pay them around $12 million in average annual value. That’s the same dollar figure newly-acquired defensive end Yannick Ngakoue signed for last week, and the Vikings even put their left tackle position at risk by asking Riley Reiff to take a pay cut so Ngakoue could fit under the cap. No such finagling was done for Cook, which may or may not be a sticking point.
Typically the Vikings don’t conduct negotiations in season, so Cook’s camp is likely in the 11th hour if they’d like to wrap up a contract before Cook takes the field and assumes a greater injury risk. He’s maintained his intent to play regardless of his contract situation.
“If Coach Zim calls my name,” Cook said, “I’ll be out there.”
There is little doubt that the team values Cook. He’s been marketed as one of the faces of their offense, has served as an ambassador for the team in community outreach projects and has shown a game-changing ability as a multi-faceted running back. Cook has intangibles that make him special, but he wants to see that reflected in something tangible, a.k.a. dollars. He insinuated Wednesday that it’s tough for him to buy into the team’s assertions of his value until he sees the financial proof.
“It’s just like if I value you as a person, I would treat you such as I value you,” Cook said. “It’s the same thing with me. I’m going to give 1,000 percent on the field, every time I walk in the building, every time I’m out in the community. It’s kind of the same thing. Like I said, I just hope both sides come to an agreement so they can value Dalvin Cook on and off the field.”
For the two sides to align, one will have to change its perception of Cook’s value.
If Cook takes the field without a new deal on Sunday, he’ll be rolling the dice on his health, which has been suspect the previous three seasons. The Vikings have less at stake by watching him play for another season without a contract. If he struggles or gets injured, the team feels good about its backup situation and may stick with a budget approach at running back. If he thrives, the franchise tag is always an option in 2021, and the Vikings would have more information about next year’s salary cap.
If Cook wants assurances before the season kicks off, it’s likely his side that will have to cave.
