Dalvin Cook

[Pondering Her Percy]

Some ammunition for Cook to get a big payday. McCaffrey just signed his extension for $16 million a year. I found this on RotoWorld.


CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY
RB, CAROLINA PANTHERS

Panthers signed RB Christian McCaffrey to a four-year contract extension through 2024.
Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the deal is worth $16 million per year, making McCaffrey the highest-paid running back in NFL history. It was an inauspicious time for CMC's contract to come due after a recent spate of running back deal mega-busts, but McCaffrey is no ordinary runner, and he is still two months shy of his 24th birthday. He has also never missed a game with injury. That combination of youth, durability and unique skill-set always made McCaffrey more likely to get paid than most. It is surprising the deal was finalized at this moment in time, but the Panthers clearly wanted to make a commitment to their offensive engine as they embark on a reset. McCaffrey is coming off a campaign where he became just the third player in NFL history to reach 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season. He has averaged 4.7 yards per carry and 8.3 yards per reception for his career. Especially considering the absurd amount of passes he catches for a running back, that second number is extra impressive. Even with Cam Newton out and Teddy Bridgewater in, CMC has the strongest claim to No. 1 overall status in 2020.

Good bye Cook. It was nice seeing you wear purple.

Why do you say that? He's not going to demand $16 million a year I would bet on it.

[VikingsVictorious]

Cook is a solid blocker. You are cherry picking one bad play.

You point out a play when he was solid and we'll call it even evidence he can block.

I don't need to pick one out. He is almost always getting the job done.

[RandyMoss84]

I sure hope Vikings do not make Cook highest paid running back, is it possible that Vikings can just give Cook 10 million a year? I think giving Cook $10 million a year is fair since he has not proven that he can stay healthy

[RandyMoss84]

Good bye Cook. It was nice seeing you wear purple.

Why do you say that? He's not going to demand $16 million a year I would bet on it.

If he does, say good bye to Cook, he is not worth $16 million a year since he can not stay healthy

[VikingsVictorious]

Why do you say that? He's not going to demand $16 million a year I would bet on it.

If he does, say good bye to Cook, he is not worth $16 million a year since he can not stay healthy

I really doubt he will be demanding $16 million a year. But I do think he will expect $13 million a year and feel disrespected if the offer is less.

[fiestavike]

If he does, say good bye to Cook, he is not worth $16 million a year since he can not stay healthy

I really doubt he will be demanding $16 million a year. But I do think he will expect $13 million a year and feel disrespected if the offer is less.

Ya, its going to be somewhere in that rarefied air. Maybe he takes less than Zeke and McCaffrey, but not a whole lot less.

[RandyMoss84]

Since Dalvin thinks he is best running back in NFL, I bet he wants to be the highest paid in the NFL

[J. Kapp 11]

I really doubt he will be demanding $16 million a year. But I do think he will expect $13 million a year and feel disrespected if the offer is less.

Ya, its going to be somewhere in that rarefied air. Maybe he takes less than Zeke and McCaffrey, but not a whole lot less.

The McCaffrey deal sucks for us. Dalvin says he's the best in the NFL, which means he believes he's better than McCaffrey.

I just pray he doesn't hold out for 2020.

[VikingLord]

Why do you say that? He's not going to demand $16 million a year I would bet on it.

If he does, say good bye to Cook, he is not worth $16 million a year since he can not stay healthy

I agree.

And I'm just shaking my head at all the angst about Cook and what the McCaffrey deal implies for Cook's future as a Viking.

Can anyone name the last team that won a Superbowl with a highly-paid RB?

Along those lines, does anyone here think the deal the Panthers made with McCaffrey moves them closer to the Superbowl?

Forget individual players for a minute... Tying substantial cap up in the RB position itself makes little sense to me. There are more examples of teams that have done well and been competitive for Superbowls using running back-by-committee and not sinking a lot of dollars into the position than there are teams that have superstars at RB and have paid a lot for the privilege. There are teams that have won it with studs at RB too, but it seems the trend has been away from that. And even the teams that had studs at RB when they got there or won it almost always had strong offensive lines and great defenses in addition to the stud RB. The stud RB was rarely the main reason the team made it deep into the playoffs.

Top that off with the fact that Cook can't stay on the field. He had the same issue this year. He toughed it out, sure, but when he was injured he wasn't the same player. Not even close. He went out mid-game at least twice when he aggravated whatever was bothering him and he started fumbling.

Cook has elite talent when he's healthy, but he's not an elite back because he can't stay healthy. In my view there is a difference, and if the Vikings invest in Cook anything close to what the Panthers invested in McCaffrey they are setting themselves up for further cap pain down the road and will further hamstring their ability to field a team capable of competing for a Superbowl.

[VikingsVictorious]

Since Dalvin thinks he is best running back in NFL, I bet he wants to be the highest paid in the NFL

I want to be the highest paid RB in the NFL. I don't expect to be. I don't think Cook is an idiot. He knows he does not have the resume to demand the highest contract.

[fiestavike]

If he does, say good bye to Cook, he is not worth $16 million a year since he can not stay healthy

I agree.

And I'm just shaking my head at all the angst about Cook and what the McCaffrey deal implies for Cook's future as a Viking.

Can anyone name the last team that won a Superbowl with a highly-paid RB?

Along those lines, does anyone here think the deal the Panthers made with McCaffrey moves them closer to the Superbowl?

Forget individual players for a minute... Tying substantial cap up in the RB position itself makes little sense to me. There are more examples of teams that have done well and been competitive for Superbowls using running back-by-committee and not sinking a lot of dollars into the position than there are teams that have superstars at RB and have paid a lot for the privilege. There are teams that have won it with studs at RB too, but it seems the trend has been away from that. And even the teams that had studs at RB when they got there or won it almost always had strong offensive lines and great defenses in addition to the stud RB. The stud RB was rarely the main reason the team made it deep into the playoffs.

Top that off with the fact that Cook can't stay on the field. He had the same issue this year. He toughed it out, sure, but when he was injured he wasn't the same player. Not even close. He went out mid-game at least twice when he aggravated whatever was bothering him and he started fumbling.

Cook has elite talent when he's healthy, but he's not an elite back because he can't stay healthy. In my view there is a difference, and if the Vikings invest in Cook anything close to what the Panthers invested in McCaffrey they are setting themselves up for further cap pain down the road and will further hamstring their ability to field a team capable of competing for a Superbowl.

I tend to agree. Those are all reasons to either explore trading Dalvin now, or, if he doesn't plan to hold out, simply let him walk after this year. If we had a QB on a rookie deal, maybe you have the luxory of retaining Cook for a couple more years, but not at this point. Time to draft his replacement.

[fiestavike]

Since Dalvin thinks he is best running back in NFL, I bet he wants to be the highest paid in the NFL

I want to be the highest paid RB in the NFL. I don't expect to be. I don't think Cook is an idiot. He knows he does not have the resume to demand the highest contract.

Its got to be at least in the 13-14m range that his agent is asking for at this point. No chance the Vikings should pay him anything close to that. I really hope this team is willing to make the moves this year to keep them competitive into the future, and especially to try to build a real contender instead of scrambling to remain moderately relevant.

[VikingsVictorious]

I want to be the highest paid RB in the NFL. I don't expect to be. I don't think Cook is an idiot. He knows he does not have the resume to demand the highest contract.

Its got to be at least in the 13-14m range that his agent is asking for at this point. No chance the Vikings should pay him anything close to that. I really hope this team is willing to make the moves this year to keep them competitive into the future, and especially to try to build a real contender instead of scrambling to remain moderately relevant.

I'm guessing he will ask for $13-14 million with large guaranteed money and accept 11-12 million with incentives for much more and moderate guaranteed money.
If we don't think he's worth it, than yeah he's gone.

[YikesVikes]

Ya, its going to be somewhere in that rarefied air. Maybe he takes less than Zeke and McCaffrey, but not a whole lot less.

The McCaffrey deal sucks for us. Dalvin says he's the best in the NFL, which means he believes he's better than McCaffrey.

I just pray he doesn't hold out for 2020.

Yup. There is a reason he is making these comments. Dalvin is not usually talkative. Isn't it strange that our usually quiet RB is being boastful the same time contract negotiations are on going.

[YikesVikes]

Good bye Cook. It was nice seeing you wear purple.

Why do you say that? He's not going to demand $16 million a year I would bet on it.

My thoughts on keeping him was if we could get him extended for 10 million a year. With this contract, there is no way this is happening. I think Panthers overpaid but... there is no way, Cook gives us a 1/3 discount off the CMC contract.