This Vikings-Seahawks Trade for Dalvin Cook Could Blow Up the NFL

I remember it fondly. Vividly. How could I not? With a campfire crackling as he drank coffee out of a tin cup, my grandpappy sat me down on his knee and he said, "Boy, no matter what you do, don't you never give no running back no bag. Not never, y'hear?" Then, he rocketed a bullet of Skoal slurp right into his engraved brass spittoon so hard that it clanged like a gong.

The year was 2019.

And what was true all those years ago is true now: NFL teams should absolutely not hand running backs massive contract extensions immediately following rookie deals. And that's why the Minnesota Vikings should be open to trading Dalvin Cook now that he's hit the contract year of his rookie deal. And they should pay attention when the Seattle Seahawks come callling.

On its face, the Vikings trading Dalvin Cook is about as bananas as the Saints trading Alvin Kamara. A true game-breaking franchise running back is hard to find. But after what the Rams just went through with Todd Gurley, who went from can't-miss superstar to cut from the team in stunning record time, paying these guys colossal money on a contract extension before they've even had a chance to prove their long-term durability can torpedo your franchise.

And what Cook has proven, durability-wise, isn't at all trustworthy -- he lost a good portion of the 2017 season to a torn ACL, and was unavailable down the stretch in '19 with a chest issue.

With that in mind, the Seahawks, who mounted a playoff run in 2019 despite seeing running backs drop left and right due to a series of freak injuries, should offer their 2020 first-round pick (No. 27 overall) plus a fourth-rounder to Minnesota for Cook.

If the Vikings won't budge, Pete Carroll and Co. should be amenable to bumping that fourth-round pick up to a third. Sure, losing Cook would bring about some harsh reactions, but it's not like there aren't other fish in the backfield sea -- and they won't be in a position to demand Gurley money a year from now (or walk away in free agency for nothing).

The Hawks might just be one star running back away from a Super Bowl run. After seeing Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny, and CJ Prosise all go down in a catastrophic injury blaze at the business end of the 2019 season, there's no more time for messing around. He who dares, wins. As my ol' granddad said, "Ya can't make duck soup without yankin' out the entrails first."