Vikings running back Dalvin Cook is planning his holdout.
Cook has decided not to participate in any team activities until he gets a new contract.
“He’s out. Without a reasonable extension, he will not be showing up for camp or beyond,” a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.
The question now will be whether the Vikings cave to Cook’s demands. Last year two high-profile running backs engaged in holdouts, with very different results.
Melvin Gordon was making similar threats about not reporting a year ago when he started his holdout with the Chargers. But the Chargers didn’t budge and Gordon eventually reported in Week Five of the regular season. This year he settled for a two-year, $16 million contract with the Broncos in free agency.
Ezekiel Elliott, however, was also holding out a year ago, and in his case it was the team that caved: The Cowboys gave Elliott a six-year, $90 million contract.
Will the Vikings hold the line like the Chargers? Or will Cook get a big new contract like Elliott’s? That now becomes one of the most interesting questions of this summer in the NFL.
