An AFC East tug-o-war for running back Dalvin Cook remains possible.
With Cook visiting the Jets on Sunday, the Dolphins remain interested in signing him. But they say they’re willing to proceed without him, presumably in an effort to get him at the best possible price.
“First and foremost, I’m extremely happy with our running back group,” coach Mike McDaniel told reporters on Friday when asked about the team’s interest level in Cook. “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 need to be met for it to work. He’s a free agent and he’s visiting the Jets. And that’s what I have to say.”
Cook is a great player at a position at which the Dolphins are stacked, at a time when it has become more clear than ever that the running back market ain’t what she used to be.
Cook clearly has yet to get the offer he wants, or he would have taken it. Meanwhile, the delay will help him if/when word emerges from a training camp that a starting running back on another team has torn an ACL or blown out an Achilles tendon. That would immediately change things for Cook.