Following the Minnesota Vikings’ Dalvin Cook release, the four-time Pro Bowl running back will be looking for a new home. The Vikings no longer thought Cook was worth the money they were paying him with Alexander Mattison waiting in the wings, and decided to let him go. Cook can still be an effective back for a contending team, though, and should draw interest from several NFL franchises. One team that must reach out is the Buffalo Bills because a Dalvin Cook-Bills partnership would be a perfect fit.
The Bills are perfect fit for Dalvin Cook after Vikings release
The Vikings’ Dalvin Cook release was unavoidable. Minnesota had a productive young back in Alexander Mattison, a ballooning salary cap loaded with highly-paid veterans, and needs elsewhere on the roster.
For those reasons, the team cut bait with an RB who has run for over 1,100 yards and scored at least six touchdowns in the last four seasons. In these four consecutive Pro Bowl campaigns, Cook has also caught at least 34 balls for 224 yards or more.
Cook is one of the true workhorse three-down backs in the NFL. And while teams are increasingly downplaying the importance of these types of players, having one is valuable at the right price. A true N. 1 back can make a huge difference for teams later in season, and especially in the playoffs.
For the Vikings, saving $9 million this year and $12.5 million next season was worth parting ways with Cook. However, if a team can get the back, who will be 28 in August for a short-term, single-digit-million-dollar contract, it will be a steal.
The team that should try its hardest to make this happen is the Bills.
Buffalo is one of the best teams in the league as currently constituted, even though their playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last season exposed some roster flaws. The team has addressed many of those — drafting tight end Dalton Kincaid and guard O’Cyrus Torrence signing guard Connor McGovern and pass rusher Leonard Floyd — this offseason.
The one spot on the depth chart where the Bills had issues last season but didn’t make a major upgrade is at running back.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane did let Devin Singletary go and brought in former New England Patriots runner Damien Harris. Together with James Cook, Nyheim Hines, and Latavius Murray, the Bills backfield is upgraded from last season.
That said, why use four RBs to do the job that one can do?
Buffalo and new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey struggled to effectively run the ball season when they needed to most. Some of that was play-calling, but most of it was roster construction. The team didn’t have a back to shoulder the load when needed.
The perfect example of this was in Week 10 against Cook’s Vikings. The Bills jumped out to a 27-10 third-quarter lead but couldn’t run the ball to salt the game away, and Minnesota came back and won in overtime.
Dalvin Cook is that type of clock-killing back, and he can handle 20-plus carries a game when the Bills need him to do so. That would be huge for Josh Allen and company. And while he is capable of handling a full load, he wouldn’t have to in Buffalo. The Bills could use him when necessary and keep him healthy for the postseason run.
And on that note, one of the most interesting reasons Dalvin Cook is a perfect fit with the Bills is because of who he will share the backfield with. Dalvin notoriously hasn’t seemed thrilled about Mattison steadily eating into his carries the last few seasons.
In Buffalo, Dorsey and the coaching staff would also have the RB split more time than he’d like, but this time, it would be with his little brother, James Cook. That seems like a move that Dalvin would be more accepting of than his time-split in Minnesota.
Having the Cook brothers together in the locker room would make Dalvin’s transition from Minnesota — the only NFL team he’s ever played for — seamless. He should fit into the Bills’ culture nicely, and that is important for a team that (almost) always seems to have positive vibes.
In the end, if it's money the RB wants following the Vikings’ Dalvin Cook release, he’ll probably have to look elsewhere. If the Pro Bowl runner wants to win, though, and have a good time doing it, Dalvin should join his brother James on the Bills, and the Cook family will have a real chance to win a Super Bowl together in the 2023 NFL season.
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