Minnesota Vikings getting Dalvin Cook extension done before Week 1 is important

The Minnesota Vikings inked Dalvin Cook to a mammoth extension prior to Week 1.

On the eve of their season-opening game on Sunday afternoon against the Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Vikings got some positive news surrounding their centerpiece of the offense.

After question marks surrounding the contract situation involving star Vikings running back Dalvin Cook this offseason, Minnesota and Cook finally were able to agree on an extension Saturday morning to keep him in purple in gold for the next handful of seasons.

According to ESPN Insider Adam Schefter, the Vikings agreed to a five-year, $63 million contract extension to keep him in Minnesota through the 2025 season. The deal includes $28 million guaranteed with a $15.5 million signing bonus, which is the largest for a non-quarterback in franchise history.

The fact that the Vikings and Cook were able to come to an agreement is obviously good news. But the fact that it also happened before the regular season began was incredibly important.

The timing of the Minnesota Vikings-Dalvin Cook deal is critical.

As we’ve already seen this offseason, the contract situation with Cook — who was entering the final year of his rookie contract before signing the extension — has caused some distractions on the team with the uncertainty as to if Minnesota would want to extend its star running back beyond this year or had plans to move on from him.

Getting that distraction out of the way now allows the team and Cook to focus just solely on football and what takes place on the field, with both sides set and satisfied for the next five seasons.

After other running backs such as Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey and Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry agreed to extensions this offseason and received nice raises for their teams, Cook ended up wanting the same although it took a bit longer than expected for everyone to come to an agreement.

But regardless of how long the agreement took for both sides, it is so important to have Cook locked up before the regular season schedule begins and as Minnesota aims to return to the playoffs once again in 2020.

During the 2019 season, Cook had his best — and healthiest — season in the NFL and with the Vikings since he broke into the league a few years ago.

A year ago, Cook finished the year appearing in a career-high 14 regular-season games, tallying 250 carries for 1,135 yards and 13 touchdowns, which is tied for the most rushing touchdowns in a season in franchise history. Cook also finished the season with a total of 53 catches for 519 yards through the air out of the backfield.

In past years, Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer has stressed the importance of getting Cook involved early and often during games and running this offseason through him and the rest of the Vikings’ running backs.

That will likely continue to be the case once again this season, which starts on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis against a division rival, and now both sides can put the contract extension concerns to rest with Cook set to remain in Minnesota for at least the next handful of seasons.