Cook keen on forming ‘epic’ tandem with Hopkins

Dalvin Cooka free agent after his launch from the Minnesota Vikings this month, has an curiosity in teaming up with DeAndre Hopkins on his subsequent staff.

Talking Monday on “The Adam Schefter Podcast,” Prepare dinner mentioned of Hopkins (additionally a free agent who stays unsigned), “If we find yourself on the identical roster, that may be one thing epic for the NFL.”

Prepare dinner, who performed six seasons for the Vikings, turns 28 in August and was set to take up $14.1 million in Minnesota’s cap area for 2023. After commerce talks simmered, the Vikings launched the star operating again.

Hopkins, 31, has been assessing his choices as effectively since his launch from the Arizona Cardinals final month. The star extensive receiver visited with the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots final week.

“I do know his mindset, and I executed play towards D-Hop a quite a few quantity of occasions,” Prepare dinner advised Schefter. “Once I been with D-Hop, we executed chill collectively, we executed been round one another like, and it is like I form of see the person who he’s like, he wish to win and that is what my thoughts at to.

“I wish to go win. Like I mentioned, the cash gonna come and that is going to occur. However like so far as going to carry that [Vince Lombardi] Trophy up, he bought the identical mindset as me.”

The Miami DolphinsPrepare dinner’s hometown staff, are anticipated to have an curiosity in signing him, sources advised Schefter final week, however coach Mike McDaniel danced across the query when it was posed to him final week throughout his membership’s minicamp.

“March 3, 1983, the day I used to be born. Now, we take a more in-depth have a look at that date, and that, the truth is, was not yesterday,” McDaniel advised reporters, referring to the notion that he wasn’t born yesterday. “You are not gonna get this man. I am 12 months 2.”

Prepare dinner, a second-round draft decide in 2017, surpassed 1,500 touches in his profession final season, regardless of struggling to remain on the sector throughout his early years. His rookie season ended after 4 video games due to a torn ACL, and an assortment of different accidents price him between two and 5 video games in every of the following 4 seasons. A power shoulder damage finally pressured him to put on a harness for lengthy stretches of his profession.

He however managed to provide 4 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons from 2019 to 2022 and scored a mixed 29 speeding touchdowns throughout the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He additionally proved to be an efficient receiver, averaging 42 receptions per season after his rookie 12 months.

Hopkins, in the meantime, had 64 catches for 717 yards and three touchdowns final season for the Cardinals, and has six 1,000-yard seasons on his résumé.

“Everyone is aware of who D-Hop is,” Prepare dinner mentioned, calling him a “dynamic participant.” “You recognize what you are getting out of D-Hop, and you understand what he going to carry to your roster. It is the identical for me. Like you understand — the movie speaks for itself — I do not actually bought to do an excessive amount of like, you understand, speaking about who Dalvin Prepare dinner and DeAndre Hopkins is.

“However we’ve not talked. And he was a kind of guys that I used to be going to succeed in out to, as a result of, like, I do know he bought the identical mindset as me, like we making an attempt to go win. We’re making an attempt to go on the roster and making an attempt to go contend.”

Hopkins performed in Arizona for 3 seasons, after seven with the Houston Texans. His greatest season for the Cardinals was his first, when he totaled 1,407 and 6 touchdowns on 115 catches in 2020.

“If we will rise up on the identical roster and be on the identical staff, that would be the great thing about the scenario,” Prepare dinner mentioned.

Becoming a member of forces in Miami would appear like a attain, contemplating the Dolphins, recent off a playoff look final season, have extensive receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle as Tua Tagovailoa‘s prime targets.

Prepare dinner may slot in properly in that offense, however McDaniel final week did take the chance to laud the operating backs on his present roster.

“Total, very pleased with the way in which they’ve practiced, very pleased with their aggressive camaraderie,” McDaniel mentioned. “They’re all making an attempt to be one of the best, however they don’t seem to be doing it despite one another and so they acknowledge that every certainly one of them might help them get higher, so it has been a cool camp for them.”

In a 24-16 win over the Dolphins final season, Prepare dinner sealed the win with a 53-yard landing run within the fourth quarter.