Dalvin Cook calls Miami Dolphins ‘perfect fit’
Star free agent running back Dalvin Cook has been linked to the Miami Dolphins throughout the offseason, and that public connection has only intensified since Cook’s June 9 release from the Minnesota Vikings.
And the Miami native who played college football at Florida State had a strong endorsement for the situation when detailing his thoughts on a potential return home ahead of the 2023 NFL season.
“It’ll be a perfect fit,” Cook told SiriusXM NFL Radio, “and the roster speaks for itself.”
Cook spoke highly of how he could slide right into a team with talented playmakers on offense and that runs a scheme he’s familiar with under coach Mike McDaniel.
“It’s an exciting situation to go into,” said Cook, a four-time Pro Bowl selection with the Vikings that attended Miami Central High. “You got guys that can stretch the field on the outside. I think that defense is pretty solid to me. (Quarterback) Tua (Tagovailoa), when he’s on the field, they got a winning record. As a running back, you look for a certain scheme. I know the scheme that I’m good in, and that’s outside zone. That’s what Miami Dolphins run.”
The Dolphins, of course, already have a crowded backfield, returning four running backs from 2022 and drafting Texas A&M rookie De’Von Achane in the third round. Cook, however, is notches above either Achane or veterans Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr., and he’s okay with sharing touches in the backfield.
“It’d be a perfect fit. And the roster, like you said, speaks for itself.”
Four-Time Pro Bowl Running Back @DalvinCook discussed being a free agent and the possibility of signing in Miami.#NFLFreeAgency | #Dolphins | #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/oKiLKgtBrU
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) June 22, 2023
“If it comes to me taking less of reps but being in the perfect situation to hold up that trophy, I don’t mind,” he said. “I just want to go somewhere where I can just get the ball and help somebody win.”
The Dolphins have those Super Bowl aspirations, but so does a division rival in New York that has also been linked to Cook.
“A lot of people got me pinned going back home. A lot of people got me going to the Jets,” he said. “It’s all over the place right now, but what’s going to be important for me is just going to that right situation and helping someone turn the page. I want to go and be the piece that helps somebody win and get over the hump.”
Cook is possibly looking to earn something in the neighborhood of $10 million next season and may not be willing to give the Dolphins too much of a hometown discount as a running back that turns 28 on Aug. 10 and underwent shoulder surgery in February.
Miami has cap space that’s estimated at $13.4 million by spotrac and 13.9 million by OverTheCap, largely due to the influx of cap relief from the post-June 1 release of cornerback Byron Jones.
