Former Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook said he would love to play on the same team as free-agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
All 32 NFL teams are over a month away until they host training camp, where they evaluate the talent on their rosters and bring the total number of players to 53 for the start of the 2023 regular season.
There are still plenty of players available in free agency, and there happen to be two big names — former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, and ex-Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook. Both players were released by their respective teams after failing to find a trade. Now, they have the choice to sign wherever they so please.
Would the two play together?
During an appearance on ESPN’s “The Adam Schefter Podcast,” Dalvin Cook brought up the possibility of teaming alongside Hopkins and said he’s all for it. Specifically, he said it would be “epic for the NFL.”
NFL Rumors: Dalvin Cook open to teaming up with DeAndre Hopkins
“I know his mindset, and I done play against D-Hop a numerous amount of times,” Cook said, h/t ESPN. “When I been with D-Hop, we done chill together, we done been around each other like, and it’s like I kind of see the person that he is like, he want to win and that’s what my mind at to.
“I want to go win. Like I said, the money gonna come and that’s going to happen. But like as far as going to lift that [Vince Lombardi] Trophy up, he got the same mindset as me.”
That would certainly be quite the pairing if there were a team that was interested in bringing in Hopkins and Cook.
Cook was released from his five-year, $63 million deal with the Vikings after two seasons. Given how the market looks like right now for running backs, with Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs refusing to sign franchise tags for the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders, respectively, and Ezekiel Elliott still a free agent, fans are wondering what kind of deal he could get from an interested team. One name that has been linked to Cook was the Miami Dolphins, but it’s unknown if they will outright pursue him.
This past season, Cook ran for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns on 264 carries in all 17 games played.
As for Hopkins, he visited two teams in the AFC recently. He took a trip to the Tennessee Titans facility but left without a deal. Then, last Thursday, he met with the New England Patriots, with reports indicating that the team was confident that they could sign him to a deal. However, Hopkins is reportedly going to be patient and potentially sign a deal near the start of training camp.
Hopkins is coming off of a season in which he was limited to nine games due to a six-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy and injuries. In that span, he caught 64-of-96 targets for 717 yards and three touchdowns.
Cook and Hopkins on the same team is something you would see on EA Sports Madden NFL video game franchise or in fantasy football. As for real life? Anything’s possible, but who knows if it will be feasible.