Kirk Cousins 'Hoping' Vikings Re-Sign Dalvin Cook: 'Maybe There Is an Outside Chance'

The Minnesota Vikings released running back Dalvin Cook last week, saving about $9 million in cap space in the process.

But quarterback Kirk Cousins is hopeful the star tailback might make his way back to Minny.

"I'm excited to see where he goes, I'll always be pulling for him and I'm kind of optimistically hoping maybe we get him back," he told reporters Wednesday. "Who knows. Maybe there is an outside chance. We'll see."

But based on reports of what Cook is hoping to land in a new contract on the market, a reunion seems very unlikely:

"I want the value," Cook told the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero on The Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday. "I want somebody who values Dalvin Cook. I want somebody that wants me to be there and give me the ball. I just want to go into the right situation so I can go help somebody win."

"I'm feeling great, being (in) the right shape and stuff like that just to play for a football team, that's going to be the best thing," he added. "I'm not in a rush to go sign with nobody. I'm trying to find the right fit for me and my family."

The NFL has devalued running backs, no doubt, but a 27-year-old who has been a Pro Bowler in each of the past four years and has rushed for at least 1,100 yards in those seasons is going to find a home soon enough.

It just would be a major surprise if it was a return to Minnesota.