The Minnesota Vikings are expected to release four-time Pro Bowl RB Dalvin Cook on Friday officially, as per NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero.
Cook was due a $10.4 million base salary in 2023. He has $2 million guaranteed, which is subject to offsets when he signs with a new club.
Cutting Cook after June 1 allows the Vikings to save $9 million on the salary cap this season with $5 million in dead money.
The 28 year-old Cook is coming off his fourth-straight 1,100-plus-yard rushing season and fourth consecutive Pro Bowl.
Cook finishes his Vikings career as the franchise’s third all-time rusher, with 5,993 yards in six seasons. He managed to start every game in 2022 for the first time in his career, even after separating his shoulder in Week 3.
Cook underwent shoulder surgery Feb. 14 in hopes of avoiding the chronic separations he has suffered. The Vikings say that he would be fully recovered in time for the regular season.
The Vikings signed Cook’s longtime backup Alexander Mattison to a two-year contract worth up to $8 million this offseason.
That move was a key indicator that the club planned to move on from Cook at some point. Mattison will take over as the lead-back role in the Vikings offense.
Pro Bowl RB Dalvin Cook. Photo courtsey of Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
