Looking to cut costs, the Minnesota Vikings parted with two vested veterans in Adam Thielen and Eric Kendricks. Ever since the start of the purge, speculation has pointed to four-time Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook being the next to go.

These rumors have gone all offseason and seemed to heighten leading up to the NFL Draft. The expectation was that if the Vikings did move on from Cook, it would likely occur during draft weekend, with the team being able to utilize the draft capital received from a potential Cook trade.

Only, a trade never came to fruition, and one of the top teams linked to a Cook trade, the Miami Dolphins, selected running back Devon Achane with the 84th overall pick, a selection that likely could have been used to land the Miami, Florida native from Minnesota instead.

Yet, even after the draft concluded, speculation suggested the Dolphins could still be targeting Cook via trade, with one report even going so far as to suggest he could be had for a 2024 fifth-round pick.

Only, now another source from NFL insider Albert Breer suggests the Dolphins may no longer be circling the waters for Cook. Breer believes Achane’s selection takes Miami out of the running, preferring to give their new tailback every opportunity to earn an immediate role, mixing in with Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson.

Trading Cook before June 1 allows the Vikings to save $7.9 million in 2023, but it also comes with a dead cap charge of $6.2 million without a contract adjustment. Of course, if the Vikings really don’t want Cook on the team, possibly so they can move forward with Alexander Mattison, Kene Nwangwu, and Ty Chandler in the backfield, releasing Cook penalizes the team by $8.2 million while offering a savings of just $5.9M.