The Denver Broncos might soon be adding a Pro Bowl running back. Although there will be strong competition from other teams, the Broncos are expected to be in the running to add Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook, who is set to be released by the Minnesota Vikings.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Broncos have been monitoring Cook's situation for "weeks".
The Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos are two of the teams that are expected to have an interest in signing running back Dalvin Cook once he officially is released, per sources. There likely will be others, but those two have been monitoring Cook for weeks.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 8, 2023
Of course, there's somewhat of a wrench being thrown into things because the Vikings are (of course) going to make one last-gasp effort to trade Dalvin Cook before releasing him outright. Could there be some type of trade agreement reached between George Paton and his former team before Cook hits the open market?
Vikings are expected to try to trade four-time Pro-Bowl RB Dalvin Cook one more time today and if they are unable to, they would plan to process his official release Friday, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 8, 2023
If the Denver Broncos have legitimate interest in adding Dalvin Cook to their roster, what's a late-round pick swap between friends? Obviously, you don't want to get into a situation where Cook gets traded to your team and doesn't want to be there. Nobody wins in that scenario. But I can't imagine Cook would scoff at the chance to play for Sean Payton, even as bad as the Denver Broncos have been in recent years.
Given the team's recent moves, it seems like a big move at running back has been in the works for some time. The Broncos freed up almost $10 million in total cap space with the signing of Kareem Jackson, the release of pass rusher Jake Martin, and the release of Brandon McManus. Of course, they have made other moves in the interim, but there is no doubt that they could fit Dalvin Cook on their salary cap for 2023 if they wanted to do it.
And they have the late-round picks to send to the Vikings if they are worried about the Dolphins or some other team swooping in. The last thing the Denver Broncos need is a team like the Chiefs or Chargers landing Dalvin Cook if he hits free agency. They also play against the Dolphins this coming season, so they might see him one way or another.
Yes, the news regarding Javonte Williams of late has been positive. Yes, Samaje Perine was added in free agency under the assumption of an expanded role in Denver. Sean Payton has always been a big believer in the committee running back approach and this would be no different. He had years with the Saints where he had multiple first-round running backs on his roster. George Paton has seemingly always shared that particular philosophy at the running back position as well, consistently having multiple decently high draft picks on the roster at the position, dating back to Adrian Peterson being the first first-round pick he and Rick Spielman made together.
The Denver Broncos are expected to run the ball a lot in 2023. They currently have Javonte Williams coming back from major knee surgery, and his recovery seems to be going well, but what kind of pressure does it put on him to go into the season with only he and Samaje Perine as your featured backs?
Even if it's just a one-year move to add Cook to the roster, it's going to help the Broncos tremendously in their quest to become relevant again.