Dalvin Cook has reportedly threatened to hold out from any team activities, including training camp and into the 2020 season, unless the Minnesota Vikings sign him to a "reasonable" long-term contract. When push comes to shove, however, it's very unlikely Cook will actually steer clear of camp come July.
That's according to The Athletic's Arif Hasan, who joined CBS Sports' "Pick Six NFL Podcast" on Thursday to address Cook's contract situation. Asked to rank the likelihood of a Cook holdout on a scale of one to 10, Hasan comfortably answered with a "three."
"I don't think it's very likely," Hasan explained. "The Vikings haven't had to deal with very many holdouts in their history, and Dalvin doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would."
A number of factors make that the case, Hasan added, including the uncertainty around the NFL's salary cap beyond this pandemic-affected season and the new collective bargaining agreement that would make Cook a restricted free agent in 2021 in the event of a holdout.
"The intense cap pressure that may or may not occur in 2021 based off what's happening in 2020 (means) ... he's not going to be happy with whatever deal emerges out of that situation," Hasan said. "And it's not like a quarterback, not just from a value perspective ... For Dalvin Cook, where he plays a position where that injury history really matters a lot more ... you have that issue. The fact that running backs just don't last as long in the NFL, that's going to be a big part of it."
Hasan clarified that he's "confident the Vikings will get a deal done," echoing CBS Sports' column on why a big Cook deal remains inevitable. Put it simply, the Vikings "do very much believe the offense kind of runs through him."
It's just a matter now of whether Cook actually gets as much money as he desires.
