Former Vikings RB and Miami native Dalvin Cook signing with Dolphins’ divisional rival

Former Minnesota Vikings running back and Miami native Dalvin Cook won’t be signing with the Dolphins, despite expressing interest in a homecoming.

Furthermore, Miami will have to face the Pro Bowl running back twice in the 2023 NFL season.

According to multiple reports, Cook is signing a one-year deal with the New York Jets. According to ESPN, the contract has a max value of $8.6 million.

Cook, a Miami Central and Florida State alum, was released by the Vikings on June 9, two years into a five-year, $63 million extension he signed in 2020. The Dolphins and Vikings discussed a trade for the 28-year-old Cook earlier in the offseason, but the trade did not happen in part because the sides could not agree on the draft pick compensation that would go to Minnesota, a source said.

Though both sides had mutual interest from the onset of his free agency, questions remained over what it would cost to bring Cook, a four-time Pro Bowler, back home. He was due to make $10.4 million in base salary before his release and was not looking to give the Dolphins a substantial hometown discount, a source said. However, Cook, who trains in South Florida, had liked multiple social media posts encouraging Miami to sign him — as well as other teams.

In multiple radio and TV interviews, Cook expressed his openness to playing with the Dolphins, even calling the pairing a “perfect fit.”

The Dolphins made an offer to Cook, a source said, and he reportedly fielded offers from multiple teams. But Cook didn’t initially receive one that met his financial expectations. Miami’s offer fell a few million dollars short of what Cook was seeking. The Dolphins have about $13.7 million in cap space, according to NFL Players Association’s public salary cap report. The Jets have about $15.6 million in space.

Training camp opened in late July without Cook on a team and he visited the Jets during the first week of camp. However, he returned home to South Florida without a deal, sparking further speculation about his next move.

In New York, Cook gets a deal that could reach close to what his base salary was set to be in Minnesota. And with Breece Hall returning from an ACL tear, Cook has the opportunity to start the season as the Jets’ lead back.

The Dolphins play the Jets at MetLife Stadium in Week 12 on Nov. 24 and then host New York in Week 15 on Dec. 17.

Cook’s deal was reported just hours after news broke of the New England Patriots signing former Dallas Cowboys back Ezekiel Elliott to a one-year deal worth up to $6 million.

Though the Dolphins ranked third in yards per play in 2022 and were one of the most explosive offenses when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was healthy, the team was tied for 25th in rushing yards per game (99.2), tied for 18th in yards per attempt (4.3) and 31st in attempts (390).

As a trade for Cook failed to materialize earlier in the offseason, the Dolphins re-signed all four running backs that were set to hit free agency: Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr, Salvon Ahmed, and Myles Gaskin. Miami also selected Texas A&M’s De’Von Achane in the third round of the 2023 Draft, the highest pick the team has used on a running back since 2016.

Throughout the offseason, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel praised the running back room, especially Mostert and Wilson, with whom he has a relationship dating to their time with the San Francisco 49ers.

The day before Cook’s release became official, McDaniel declined to comment on the possibility of pursuing the running back. But asked about the team’s roster-building approach given the franchise’s disinclination to devote significant resources to the position, McDaniel said such decisions are “case by case, but that’s intentional.”

“I think that sometimes in the effort to have a philosophy, you can pigeonhole yourself into a formula that I don’t think any formula is the same,” McDaniel said.

He added: “I see it as an ever-changing equation.”

Asked about Cook later in training camp, McDaniel said: “First and foremost, I’m extremely happy with our running back group. Extremely happy. I have great relationships with some very talented players. However, Dalvin Cook is a great player. I look at it like if it works on both sides, it makes sense for somebody. You’re adding a player to a team and an organization, and all the things they both need to be met for it to work.”

Miami Herald sportswriter Barry Jackson contributed to this report.