Mike McDaniel reminds us he was not born yesterday as Dalvin Cook rumors swirl

“March 6, 1983, the day I was born, right? Now we take a closer look at that date and that in fact was not yesterday,” head coach Mike McDaniel told the media on Thursday when asked about speculation the Miami Dolphins could be interested in acquiring soon-to-be-released Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook. The perfect answer to a delicate question, with the possibility of tampering charges, upsetting a running backs room already in place, or tipping the Dolphins’ hand when it comes to potential future negotiations, McDaniel was in regular-season form already.

Continuing, McDaniel added, “Okay, so people that are rumored to be tall, short, people that are rumored to be, you’re not going to get this guy. I’m Year 2. Okay?”

He then turned the discussion back to what he wanted to discuss, the team he has and how they are practicing heading into the final day of their mandatory minicamp. “What I am excited about is talking about the most important thing which is the third day of veteran minicamp and we’ve got a lot of guys that are good players that have an opportunity to get better. Answer your question?” he stated.

After receiving a reply of “Yes, not to my satisfaction, but yes,” McDaniel responded, “I mean, unless you’re trying to run me out of town, you know.”

The conversation focused more on the running backs Miami has, including veterans Raheem Mosters, Jeff Wilson, Jr., Salvon Ahmed, and Myles Gaskin along with rookies De’Von Achane and Chris Brooks. “The running back group, it’s developed into a really cool group,” McDaniel explained. “Very pumped to sign Raheem and Jeff back in the offseason. Then the Washington boys have been outstanding as usual, gaining, just getting better all the time. With ‘SA’ and Myles. Then we have a couple of rookies that have done a good job being rookies, which means learning from mistakes. So overall, very happy with the way they’ve practiced, very happy with their competitive camaraderie. They’re all trying to be the best, but they’re not doing it in spite of each other. They recognize that each one of them can help each other get better. So it’s been a cool camp for them.”

Cook is expected to be released by the Vikings before the weekend. Reports indicate Minnesota is making one last push to try to find a trade partner, but there does not appear to be another team willing to make a deal. Cook, a four-time Pro-Bowl selection, is a Miami native and is believed to be interested in returning to South Florida to continue his career, but everything is purely rumor and speculation at this point.

And, since March 6, 1983 was not yesterday, McDaniel is not going to jump into that speculation.