Now that Vikings running back Dalvin Cook has reported for training camp, what’s next?
Perhaps nothing. Perhaps Cook will finish his rookie deal and the two sides will deal with it in the offseason, like the Titans and running back Derrick Henry did this year, when the Titans applied the franchise tag and the two sides worked out a new deal before the July 15 deadline.
Or perhaps they’re making progress toward a new deal. After all, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reported on June 8 that Cook would not be reporting for training camp without a new deal.
“He’s out,” Schefter said at the time, quoting an unnamed source. “Without a reasonable extension, he will not be showing up for camp or beyond.”
Cook has shown up, without an extension. So the report was wrong, the source was wrong, the circumstances changed, or a “reasonable extension” is in the offing.
Then there’s the possibility that Cook will decide between now and Monday to opt out for the 2020 season. Or that he’ll suggest, through his agent, that an opt out will happen without a new deal.
Either way, today’s developments cut against the June 8 report that Cook won’t show up. So unless that report was simply incorrect, something else is going on.