Dalvin Cook goes all-out on Dolphins pitch, wants ‘Cinderella story’ in Miami

Dalvin Cook is a wanted man these days, for kinda-sorta the right reasons.

After the Minnesota Vikings released the vaunted playmaker, a number of teams were credited with an interest in the running back.

The league-wide expectation was that Cook would rather land on a Super Bowl contender, which kinda-sorta narrows his options down to two teams: the Jets and the Dolphins.

With a trip to New York on the schedule this weekend, Cook made an appearance on Good Morning Football to talk about his plans. Speaking on the Dolphins' interest, he said:

"Playing in my hometown would mean so much for me, my community, for my family, just everything around me.

"Just a Cinderella story."

Cook, of course, is a Florida man himself. He led Miami Central High School to a 52-5 record, rushing for 4,268 yards and scoring 64 touchdowns for the team. He then played college football at Florida State from 2014 to 2016.

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Why did the Vikings release Dalvin Cook?

On the face of it, it seems Minnesota deemed his contract a bit burdensome for 2023.

This season, Cook would carry a cap hit of $14 million, a figure that would've risen to $15.6 million and $13.5 million the year after. His Vikings contract was slated to run out in 2026.

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Do the Jets have a shot at landing Dalvin Cook?

Tony Pauline spoke to NFL personnel this week to test the waters. Here's what he had to say:

"Multiple league insiders I’ve spoken with point to a variety of factors as to why they believe the Jets won’t allow Cook to leave the facility before signing him to a contract. The primary reason is the injury Breece Hall suffered last year."

Considering the Jets just saved quite a bit of money with Aaron Rodgers taking a $35 million paycut, it seems the franchise is willing to go to war for Dalvin Cook.

The Jets would also have to outbid the Dolphins for a potential move, considering state taxes are also in play.