How will the Vikings approach Dalvin Cook's holdout?
Terez Paylor and Charles Robinson break down Dalvin Cook's pending holdout and what the Vikings may do.
Video Transcript
TEREZ PAYLOR: The first one is Dalvin Cook, the Vikings star running back, who intends hold out until it gets a reasonable contract. That's what he says. And my response to that is, eh, I don't know about that one, chief.
CHARLES ROBINSON: I'm with you.
TEREZ PAYLOR: I'm gonna explain why. Number one, he turns 25 this year. That's OK, though. Like, a good age for-- like, running backs are gonna typically be good until 27, 28. OK. It's the last year of his deal. He's looking for a new deal.
Last year he had his first 1,000-yard season, and he was sensational. Scored 13 touchdowns, caught 53 passes. Which you and I both said is important. Better be able to catch the ball. And he averaged 4.5 yards a carry. Here's the problem. He's never played 16 games in a season.
And because I took that trip to Minnesota last summer, I can tell you they really, really like Alexander Madison. Madison, by the way, is 21-years-old. Madison was a top 100 pick last year.
CHARLES ROBINSON: Oh, wow, I didn't know he was 21. Holy cow.
TEREZ PAYLOR: And he also averaged 4.6 yards per carry. That was higher than Dalvin. And rushed for 462 yards. Guess what. Mike Boone's not bad either. Mike Boone rushed for 273 yards last year. He's 24, and he has-- he had a 5.6 yards per carry average.
CHARLES ROBINSON: I had a chance to talk to somebody, and the way it was related to me was they love Dalvin. They do. They love him. Central cog to the offense. When he's healthy, they feel like he is so dynamic that he absolutely changes the offense.
But here's the problem they have. He played 14 games last year, OK? 14 regular season games. And that's the most regular season games he's played.
And for him to now put his foot down here after his first healthy season, really, in three years, fully healthy season in three years, where they realize that potential-- what was extolled to me was there are two routes to go here.
Number one, we would like to see the next year of-- we need to see it twice. We need see it again, OK? We need to see that again. Period. And I think that's not-- that's germane to all NFL teams when someone has a pop year of production and some health.
Or, if this is a situation where maybe we're gonna get ahead of Dalvin's contract-- like, hey, if you want to do a deal that's economical, I'm gonna explain to Vikings fans who might be listening right now, this is the exact same thing that went down with Melvin Gordon.