Ruh-Roh, Cook Plans to Hold Out?

[VikingsVictorious]

I don't know why Cook is worth $10 million per year.

Here are the 10 highest paid running backs in the NFL for the upcoming 2020 season:

NFL's highest paid running backs (average salary per year):

1. Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey: $16 million
2. Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott: $15 million
3. Jets RB Le’Veon Bell: $13.1 million
4. Texans RB David Johnson: $13 million
5. Titans RB Derrick Henry: $10.3 million
6. Cardinals RB Kenyan Drake: $8.5 million
7. Broncos RB Melvin Gordon: $8 million
8. Giants RB Saquon Barkley: $7.8 million
9. Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette: $6.8 million
10. Chargers RB Austin Ekeler: $6.1 million

Here are the top 10 running back statistics from the 2019 regular season:

GP Att Att/G Yds Avg Yds/G TD Lng 100+
1 Henry, Derrick TEN
15 303 20.2 1540 5.1 102.7 16 74 0
2 Chubb, Nick CLE
16 298 18.6 1494 5.0 93.4 8 88 0
3 McCaffrey, Christian CAR
16 287 17.9 1387 4.8 86.7 15 84 0
4 Elliott, Ezekiel DAL
16 301 18.8 1357 4.5 84.8 12 33 0
5 Carson, Chris SEA
15 278 18.5 1230 4.4 82.0 7 59 0
6 Jackson, Lamar BAL
15 176 11.7 1206 6.9 80.4 7 47 0
7 Fournette, Leonard JAX
15 265 17.7 1152 4.3 76.8 3 81 0
8 Jacobs, Josh OAK
13 242 18.6 1150 4.8 88.5 7 51 0
9 Mixon, Joe CIN
16 278 17.4 1137 4.1 71.1 5 41 0
10 Cook, Dalvin MIN
14 250 17.9 1135 4.5 81.1 13 75 0

Now that list is ordered by total yards and doesn't include receiving yardage or TDs receiving. There are different ways to order that list, and depending on how it is ordered Cook can rise into the top 5, or he falls between 5-10.

So I'm struggling with why Cook would feel he deserves to get paid as a top 5 RB when he has never performed to the overall level of a top 5 RB. It doesn't matter if he has the potential to do so. He has to actually do it.

When I look at the above and put his injury history into context, I feel even more strongly that Cook needs a true "prove it" year before the Vikings could justify spending top 5 money on him. He's just not a top 5 RB yet. Not in terms of on-field, consistent performance.

With that said, he's also not a $1.5 million performer. He probably merits a pay bump based on his performance (although I still think he should meet the terms of his rookie contract and the Vikings could make up that difference in an extension if he performs at that level and shows he can do it for an entire season), but if he wants $13 million for what he's produced thus far I say ship him ASAP. Even if he wants $10 million I say "where's the beef?". I just don't see enough from him to justify that. The flashes he's shown are great, but not enough for that kind of contract.

Why in the world would you factor out receiving yards when they are every bit as important? Especially in the modern NFL. The guy had the second highest receiving yards on the team. Even missing 2 games he had 7th most overall yards in the league. 2nd most average yards per game from scrimmage in the league.

This offense without Dalvin Cook and Diggs would be one of the worst we've ever seen.

Not counting receiving yards and TDs is ridiculous. However Cook has had one good season so far. IMO he isn't a huge injury risk. He would have played 15 games last year except for the one the Vikings lost on purpose. I'm OK with the $10 million number based on what I expect going forward. The problem is that even if Dalvin accepts that amount he is going to be a very unhappy playing with that disrespect. The thing is I really doubt if any other team is going to offer Dalvin the deal he wants if we were to trade him. So he's just going to be a very unhappy person no matter how things end up.

[RandyMoss84]

Why in the world would you factor out receiving yards when they are every bit as important? Especially in the modern NFL. The guy had the second highest receiving yards on the team. Even missing 2 games he had 7th most overall yards in the league. 2nd most average yards per game from scrimmage in the league.

This offense without Dalvin Cook and Diggs would be one of the worst we've ever seen.

Not counting receiving yards and TDs is ridiculous. However Cook has had one good season so far. IMO he isn't a huge injury risk. He would have played 15 games last year except for the one the Vikings lost on purpose. I'm OK with the $10 million number based on what I expect going forward. The problem is that even if Dalvin accepts that amount he is going to be a very unhappy playing with that disrespect. The thing is I really doubt if any other team is going to offer Dalvin the deal he wants if we were to trade him. So he's just going to be a very unhappy person no matter how things end up.

He played 14 games

[VikingsVictorious]

Why in the world would you factor out receiving yards when they are every bit as important? Especially in the modern NFL. The guy had the second highest receiving yards on the team. Even missing 2 games he had 7th most overall yards in the league. 2nd most average yards per game from scrimmage in the league.

This offense without Dalvin Cook and Diggs would be one of the worst we've ever seen.

I'm not factoring them out per se - the stats I showed are consistent across the position. I showed running stats for each player listed not to minimize the importance or impact of receiving stats, but because Cook plays the RB position.

OK, so let's look at another set of measures, these provided by Football Outsiders (https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/nfl/rb/2019):

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA ▴ Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate Rk
R.Mostert SF 191 7 188 7 26.8% 1 26.3% 137 772 775 8 1 53% 9
M.Ingram BAL 257 3 249 3 19.8% 2 19.0% 202 1,018 1,194 10 2 60% 1
K.Drake 2TM 202 5 176 8 19.7% 3 16.0% 170 817 942 8 2 51% 16
E.Elliott DAL 324 1 271 1 16.5% 4 12.4% 301 1,358 1,637 12 3 56% 4
C.McCaffrey CAR 278 2 190 6 14.9% 5 7.5% 287 1,387 1,468 15 1 47% 28
J.Howard PHI 113 14 105 14 14.2% 6 12.7% 119 525 608 6 0 53% 8
A.Jones GB 207 4 226 4 12.0% 7 13.8% 236 1,091 1,202 16 2 56% 5
G.Edwards BAL 126 11 124 12 11.8% 8 11.5% 133 710 736 2 2 56% 6
L.Murray NO 125 13 118 13 10.7% 9 9.6% 146 637 760 5 0 60% 2
D.Cook MIN 183 8 191 5 9.3% 10 10.1% 250 1,135 1,178 13 3 49% 23
D.Henry TEN 192 6 251 2 6.7% 11 11.4% 303 1,542 1,391 16 5 50% 17

Sorry for the formatting.

This doesn't include receiving yards either, but it includes the DVOA metric (per the website, DVOA means

This number represents value, per play, over an average running back in the same game situations. The more positive the DVOA rating, the better the player's performance. Negative DVOA represents below-average offense

By DVOA Cook is the 10th best back in the league.

In short, as a running back, Cook is a top 10 back, but not a top 5. Even if one includes his total offensive yards as you did, he's still only 7th in that metric. It's nothing to sneeze at for sure, and maybe if he had two more games under his 2019 belt he'd have finished top 5, but he didn't. He has yet to finish a full season healthy, so we don't have any historical record to indicate what that would look like for Cook.

He's not a top 5 RB. He is explosive. He shows some real flashes. He's just not done that for a full year, and based on what he has done, no way should the Vikings pony up 13 million for him. I'd argue 10 million is too much for several reasons, not the least of which is he's not a top 5 RB and that is top 5 RB money.

I really don't care if he's the 2nd or 1st best offensive weapon for the Vikings. The 2019 Vikings barely made the playoffs and didn't sniff the Superbowl. Why exactly is Cook so critical in the big scheme of things for 2020 given the results of the 2019 season?

For me, it's simple - he's got to show he can be a top 5 back and do it for a whole season. He does that, he's either going to hit free agency and force the Vikings to franchise him and pay him top 5 money if they want to keep him, or he's going to get paid in free agency via an extension or by a different team.

To me you're still using a ridiculous stat. What about his TDs. Ultimately that is what matters. He only missed one game last year due to injury. Nothing wrong with that. He is one of the 5 best RBs in the league based on what almost everybody believes and sees. 2nd most yards per game. That said he doesn't have a track record. He's got one very good season in the bank. I expect last year to be more representative of him going forward then the first two seasons. Players are usually paid based on potential and future expectations than previous. I personally think $10 million is the right number. Dalvin will believe he is disrespected at that.

[VikingsVictorious]

Not counting receiving yards and TDs is ridiculous. However Cook has had one good season so far. IMO he isn't a huge injury risk. He would have played 15 games last year except for the one the Vikings lost on purpose. I'm OK with the $10 million number based on what I expect going forward. The problem is that even if Dalvin accepts that amount he is going to be a very unhappy playing with that disrespect. The thing is I really doubt if any other team is going to offer Dalvin the deal he wants if we were to trade him. So he's just going to be a very unhappy person no matter how things end up.

He played 14 games

Whatever Randy. The Vikings sat him for the sole purpose of losing to the Bears week 17. That isn't on Dalvin. It's ridiculous to act like he missed two games last year when he never got the chance to play one of them when he was ready willing and able to go.

[RandyMoss84]

He played 14 games

Whatever Randy. The Vikings sat him for the sole purpose of losing to the Bears week 17. That isn't on Dalvin. It's ridiculous to act like he missed two games last year when he never got the chance to play one of them when he was ready willing and able to go.

Chill out, I am just correcting you, jeez!

[Cliff]

Why in the world would you factor out receiving yards when they are every bit as important? Especially in the modern NFL. The guy had the second highest receiving yards on the team. Even missing 2 games he had 7th most overall yards in the league. 2nd most average yards per game from scrimmage in the league.

This offense without Dalvin Cook and Diggs would be one of the worst we've ever seen.

Not counting receiving yards and TDs is ridiculous. However Cook has had one good season so far. IMO he isn't a huge injury risk. He would have played 15 games last year except for the one the Vikings lost on purpose. I'm OK with the $10 million number based on what I expect going forward. The problem is that even if Dalvin accepts that amount he is going to be a very unhappy playing with that disrespect. The thing is I really doubt if any other team is going to offer Dalvin the deal he wants if we were to trade him. So he's just going to be a very unhappy person no matter how things end up.

Why would you think he'll feel disrespected? 10m a year is still top 5 RB money.

[StumpHunter]

Not counting receiving yards and TDs is ridiculous. However Cook has had one good season so far. IMO he isn't a huge injury risk. He would have played 15 games last year except for the one the Vikings lost on purpose. I'm OK with the $10 million number based on what I expect going forward. The problem is that even if Dalvin accepts that amount he is going to be a very unhappy playing with that disrespect. The thing is I really doubt if any other team is going to offer Dalvin the deal he wants if we were to trade him. So he's just going to be a very unhappy person no matter how things end up.

Why would you think he'll feel disrespected? 10m a year is still top 5 RB money.

Ten might get it done, depending on the guarantees.

For those of you worried about the money, there really is no reason to be. The Vikings could give him 6 million this year, 8 next year fully guaranteed, 14 in 2022 with 6 million guaranteed and 16 with 4 million fully guaranteed in 2023. That is 22 million in guarantees, with the only real commitment being this year and next. I believe that is 11 million per year if you include this season, or a 42 million 3 year extension, so he is happy, and the Vikings should be happy with that deal.

2022 and 2023 you are paying a lot for a RB, but you are only paying that if he is worth it. Otherwise you eat the 10 million over 2 years, which is half of the dead cap we have this season alone. We paid 9 million to trade away our best WR, 10 million over 2 seasons isn't that big of deal.

You might also be able to get him to take 6, 6, 10, 12, which is 32 million, and over 10 million per year on a 3 year extension. The guarantees probably don't change with that though.

[Cliff]

I'm not factoring them out per se - the stats I showed are consistent across the position. I showed running stats for each player listed not to minimize the importance or impact of receiving stats, but because Cook plays the RB position.

I get that, but in the modern NFL RBs are expected to work more in the receiving game. It's become an even more important skill for an RB over the years and should be a major factor when looking at an RB.

In short, as a running back, Cook is a top 10 back, but not a top 5. Even if one includes his total offensive yards as you did, he's still only 7th in that metric. It's nothing to sneeze at for sure, and maybe if he had two more games under his 2019 belt he'd have finished top 5, but he didn't. He has yet to finish a full season healthy, so we don't have any historical record to indicate what that would look like for Cook.

According to this one metric which is no concrete way to indicate which RBs are best though it can show part of the picture.

You say he's only in the top 10 according to this metric. I could argue he's top 2 because of his average production per game. Is there any authority on which stat we should use?

He's not a top 5 RB. He is explosive. He shows some real flashes. He's just not done that for a full year, and based on what he has done, no way should the Vikings pony up 13 million for him. I'd argue 10 million is too much for several reasons, not the least of which is he's not a top 5 RB and that is top 5 RB money.

Can you find any sources that agree with you outside of that stat? Here are all the of the non-fantasy football RB rankings going into the 2020 season that I could find.

Profootball Network - Dalvin Cook #4
Bleacher Report Dalvin Cook #5
Dallas Morning News Dalvin Cook #5
USA Today Dalvin Cook #5

I really don't care if he's the 2nd or 1st best offensive weapon for the Vikings. The 2019 Vikings barely made the playoffs and didn't sniff the Superbowl. Why exactly is Cook so critical in the big scheme of things for 2020 given the results of the 2019 season?

So no player from the 2019 team should be extended? The team didn't sniff the Superbowl - so we should make it weaker?

For me, it's simple - he's got to show he can be a top 5 back and do it for a whole season. He does that, he's either going to hit free agency and force the Vikings to franchise him and pay him top 5 money if they want to keep him, or he's going to get paid in free agency via an extension or by a different team.

You don't think Cook is important enough to the team to pay and so the fact that the team will almost certainly lose him in 2020 if they don't extend him this year doesn't really matter. We'll just have to agree to disagree there.

[VikingLord]

Not counting receiving yards and TDs is ridiculous. However Cook has had one good season so far. IMO he isn't a huge injury risk. He would have played 15 games last year except for the one the Vikings lost on purpose. I'm OK with the $10 million number based on what I expect going forward.

I wasn't excluding his receiving production to make him look less important. I just focused on rushing stats because the bulk of his production was on the ground and that is his peer group. I was comparing apples-apples among running backs.

For the record, Cook's receiving stats in 2019 were as follows:

Receptions Yards YPC Long TD
53 519 9.8 31 0

Yes, he was 2nd on the team in that category over the 14 games he played in the regular season.

[VikingLord]

To me you're still using a ridiculous stat. What about his TDs. Ultimately that is what matters. He only missed one game last year due to injury. Nothing wrong with that. He is one of the 5 best RBs in the league based on what almost everybody believes and sees. 2nd most yards per game. That said he doesn't have a track record. He's got one very good season in the bank. I expect last year to be more representative of him going forward then the first two seasons. Players are usually paid based on potential and future expectations than previous. I personally think $10 million is the right number. Dalvin will believe he is disrespected at that.

I'm trying to be impartial in evaluating whether Cook is what he thinks he is and I'm even delving into the notion being promoted in this thread by many that hey, it's fine to sign a contract and then attempt to rip it up unilaterally later by expressing unhappiness and/or threatening a holdout. Cook had a pro agent when he signed his rookie contract and rookie contracts in the NFL are negotiated under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement hashed out between representatives of all the players and representatives of all the owners that attempts to balance the interests and obligations of everyone.

As for Cook's TDs, he ranked 4th rushing (13 total) and I would assume is tied for last receiving since he had no receiving TDs.

First place in TDs was 16 by Aaron Jones. I wonder if he's going to hold out for $10 million per year now... He averaged 4.6 YPC (versus Cook's 4.5), finished with 1,084 yards rushing (versus Cook's 1,135), played a full 16 games (versus Cook's 14, which was the most he's managed since joining the league 3 years ago), and his team made it to the NFC Championship Game.

Jones wasn't too shabby as a receiver either since that seems to be critical to this discussion. His receiving stats in 2019 were:

Receptions Targets Yards YPC TDs Long
49 68 474 9.7 3 67

Just to be concise I'll put Cook's 2019 receiving numbers up here by comparison

Receptions Targets Yards YPC TDs Long
53 63 519 9.8 0 31


Those stats (both rushing and receiving) look pretty similar to me.

So should Aaron Jones think about holding out now too? Is he arguably a top 5 back?

There is a very good reason the CBA discourages holdouts, especially by rookies. It's a really slippery slope, and once one player gets his way by sitting in the corner holding his breath, it creates a lot of incentives for others who feel slighted to do the same.

[RandyMoss84]

I just think Vikings should trade all their running backs so you all can stop arguing about contracts

[VikingLord]

Can you find any sources that agree with you outside of that stat? Here are all the of the non-fantasy football RB rankings going into the 2020 season that I could find.

Profootball Network - Dalvin Cook #4
Bleacher Report Dalvin Cook #5
Dallas Morning News Dalvin Cook #5
USA Today Dalvin Cook #5

Honestly, I'll have to read the rational behind the rankings you posted later. I'm curious if those are based on someone's opinion or actual stats.

So no player from the 2019 team should be extended? The team didn't sniff the Superbowl - so we should make it weaker?

With all due respect, that is a ridiculous extension of what I said.

You don't think Cook is important enough to the team to pay and so the fact that the team will almost certainly lose him in 2020 if they don't extend him this year doesn't really matter. We'll just have to agree to disagree there.

No, I think he should play out the 2020 season and if he proves he can perform for the entirety of the season I'm fine with the Vikings paying him. I don't think a strategy of investing heavily at QB and RB is a proven way to compete for a Superbowl in the modern NFL, but if the Vikings brain trust believes differently I'm fine with that. They are the ones whose jobs are tied to the decisions they make in the offseason.

Either way, if Cook performs he'll be paid accordingly.

[VikingLord]

Profootball Network - Dalvin Cook #4
Bleacher Report Dalvin Cook #5
Dallas Morning News Dalvin Cook #5
USA Today Dalvin Cook #5

OK, I had to do it and read the items at those links, and as I suspected, these are completely subjective rankings written by sports writers.

You've provided a couple of stats that back the claim that Cook is top-5, but giving me a list of other people's opinions that Cook is top-5 doesn't bolster your argument (at least with me). I don't care if the entire world "thinks" or "feels" like Cook is a top-5 running back - I care about his statistical rankings compared to his peers.

I've provided a bunch of those, mostly for his production as a runner, but some comparison for his production as a receiver as well with Aaron Jones of Green Bay. If Cook can argue he's top 5, Jones can argue he's top 6, because he's literally right behind Cook and arguably ahead of him in some categories and he was every bit as critical to his team's (greater) success in 2019.

Do you think going back to the days of rookie holdouts, either before signing their rookie deal or after, is a good place for the NFL to be? Should the NFL adopt MAGA - Make Agents Great Again? Do you think the average 5+ year vet who has proven himself at the pro level should be giving up money to pay rookies and guys on rookie contracts who throw fits and threaten to breach what they agreed to? Or maybe the league should just chuck the idea of a salary cap and go full MLB where rich teams can buy championships year after year?

[StumpHunter]

To me you're still using a ridiculous stat. What about his TDs. Ultimately that is what matters. He only missed one game last year due to injury. Nothing wrong with that. He is one of the 5 best RBs in the league based on what almost everybody believes and sees. 2nd most yards per game. That said he doesn't have a track record. He's got one very good season in the bank. I expect last year to be more representative of him going forward then the first two seasons. Players are usually paid based on potential and future expectations than previous. I personally think $10 million is the right number. Dalvin will believe he is disrespected at that.

I'm trying to be impartial in evaluating whether Cook is what he thinks he is and I'm even delving into the notion being promoted in this thread by many that hey, it's fine to sign a contract and then attempt to rip it up unilaterally later by expressing unhappiness and/or threatening a holdout. Cook had a pro agent when he signed his rookie contract and rookie contracts in the NFL are negotiated under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement hashed out between representatives of all the players and representatives of all the owners that attempts to balance the interests and obligations of everyone.

As for Cook's TDs, he ranked 4th rushing (13 total) and I would assume is tied for last receiving since he had no receiving TDs.

First place in TDs was 16 by Aaron Jones. I wonder if he's going to hold out for $10 million per year now... He averaged 4.6 YPC (versus Cook's 4.5), finished with 1,084 yards rushing (versus Cook's 1,135), played a full 16 games (versus Cook's 14, which was the most he's managed since joining the league 3 years ago), and his team made it to the NFC Championship Game.

Jones wasn't too shabby as a receiver either since that seems to be critical to this discussion. His receiving stats in 2019 were:

Receptions Targets Yards YPC TDs Long
49 68 474 9.7 3 67

Just to be concise I'll put Cook's 2019 receiving numbers up here by comparison

Receptions Targets Yards YPC TDs Long
53 63 519 9.8 0 31


Those stats (both rushing and receiving) look pretty similar to me.

So should Aaron Jones think about holding out now too? Is he arguably a top 5 back?

There is a very good reason the CBA discourages holdouts, especially by rookies. It's a really slippery slope, and once one player gets his way by sitting in the corner holding his breath, it creates a lot of incentives for others who feel slighted to do the same.

7 eye-popping statistics about Vikings RB Dalvin Cook

Stat No. 1
Since Dalvin Cook entered the NFL in 2017, he has averaged more rushing yards per game than Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, Le’Veon Bell, Joe Mixon, Melvin Gordon, Marlon Mack, Aaron Jones, Kerryon Johnson, Phillip Lindsay, Kareem Hunt, and Mark Ingram.

The exact number is 72.6 rushing yards per game. This equates to 1,162 rushing yards per season. And, that’s just the rushing. Cook does a substantial chunk of his damage via pass-catching as well.

In 2019, he averaged 31.5 receiving yards per game. This ranked second in the NFL (minimum 10 games played) of all running backs behind McCaffrey–who was targeted 142 times by Carolina Panthers quarterbacks (a league record for running backs).

In yards per carry, Cook sits at 4.6 for his career. Compared to other notable running backs in the first three seasons of their respective careers, this outpaces Emmitt Smith, Edgerrin James, LaDanian Tomlinson, Shaun Alexander, Tony Dorsett, Thurman Thomas, Steven Jackson, Ricky Watters, Roger Craig, Todd Gurley, Larry Csonka, and hundreds of others.


Stat No. 2
Dalvin Cook was one of two players in the NFL during 2019 to exceed the 1,000 rushing yards,10 touchdowns, and 500 receiving yards.

If you play fantasy football in any capacity, you probably know that Christian McCaffrey was the other player.


Stat No. 6
In 2019, Dalvin Cook gained 15 Yards or more on 8.6% percent of all touches. This was best among the NFL’s top 10 leading rushers.

The percentages for each of the other running backs included Christian McCaffrey at 7.7 percent, Nick Chubb at 7.5 percent, Josh Jacobs at 7.3 percent, Derrick Henry at 6.9 percent, Joe Mixon at 6.7 percent, Leonard Fournette at 5.6 percent, Chris Carson at 5.4 percent, Ezekiel Elliott at 5.0 percent, and Marlon Mack at 5.0 percent.

No upper-echelon running back was better at getting his team at least 15 yards on a given play than Cook in 2019.

thevikingage.com/2020/06/15/7-minnesota-vikings-dalvin-cook-stats/

The guy is a special back when healthy. Not because of his supporting cast like Jones, but because he is special. If you want to debate whether he is worth extending based on health concerns that is one thing, but I honestly don't know how anyone could watch Cook every game and not think he is a top 5 back.

[Cliff]

Honestly, I'll have to read the rational behind the rankings you posted later. I'm curious if those are based on someone's opinion or actual stats.

They use stats to back up their opinion but in the end any "top 5" talk is all opinion. There is no clear marker for the top RB in the league going into a given year. The best RB in 2019 is likely not going to be the best RB in 2020.

So no player from the 2019 team should be extended? The team didn't sniff the Superbowl - so we should make it weaker?

With all due respect, that is a ridiculous extension of what I said.

Is it? You wrote:

I really don't care if he's the 2nd or 1st best offensive weapon for the Vikings. The 2019 Vikings barely made the playoffs and didn't sniff the Superbowl. Why exactly is Cook so critical in the big scheme of things for 2020 given the results of the 2019 season?

You can insert literally any player on the team into that sentence.

Why exactly is Harrison Smith so critical in the big scheme of things for 2020 given the results of the 2019 season?
Why exactly is Adam Thielen so critical in the big scheme of things for 2020 given the results of the 2019 season?

By that logic you would never extend any player from the 2019 team. They should play out their contracts and if they've done well enough they'll be paid accordingly.

No, I think he should play out the 2020 season and if he proves he can perform for the entirety of the season I'm fine with the Vikings paying him. I don't think a strategy of investing heavily at QB and RB is a proven way to compete for a Superbowl in the modern NFL, but if the Vikings brain trust believes differently I'm fine with that. They are the ones whose jobs are tied to the decisions they make in the offseason.

Either way, if Cook performs he'll be paid accordingly.

I guess it just doesn't seem like "invest heavily" applies to the contract that Cook would get. Certainly it's not like the Vikings have done at QB where the player makes nearly 3 times the next highest paid. Cook would be roughly the 8th highest paid player on the team, I believe.