Cook: "Everything I’ve got, it’s going to be for him"

Dalvin Cook had been on his way to one of the final Vikings workouts of the 2020 season when a FaceTime call upended his life and sent him to the side of the road, stuck silently trying to process the scene unfolding on the screen before him. He thought it was going to be a routine check-in from his grandmother on that Tuesday, four days after Christmas.

Instead, his grandma fought tears trying to explain what was happening. The video revealed more. Cook’s uncle had just stopped performing CPR, a hopeless task at this point. Dalvin’s dad, James, wasn’t breathing and his heart had stopped pumping. Dalvin talked with his grandmother as they awaited an ambulance. She cried. Dalvin tried to tell her it would be OK, but truth was, he didn’t know if it would.

Dalvin’s dad had long been his mentor, both his biggest fan and biggest critic. James and Dalvin’s mother had seven children together, but none had the special connection, Dalvin felt, that he and his dad had. They had made plans to go fishing in a few weeks with Cook’s season soon ending. His dad had seemed fine in recent weeks and was recovering from leg surgery. Dalvin was looking forward to seeing him after a 2020 season that had led to limited contact amid a pandemic.

When Cook woke up earlier that morning, he had a missed call from his dad, one that arrived on his phone shortly before midnight. Cook had thought that was odd. His dad knew he went to bed early during the season. His dad never called that late. Now, Cook wondered what his dad was trying to tell him.

Dalvin was still on FaceTime when the medics arrived at the house and pronounced James Cook dead. He was 46 years old.

Cook’s mind raced. He thought about the Vikings’ season finale that was only five days away and of his goal of reaching 2,000 yards of offense. He was just 82 yards shy of that and maybe, he thought, his dad would’ve wanted him to play. But then he thought about his grandmother, his primary caregiver growing up, who had just held her son as he took his final breaths. He thought about his siblings who didn’t yet know the news. It was Cook’s job to call them and share the news. He sat in the car on the side of the road and phoned each of them, then booked a flight to return to Miami the next day to grieve with his family and organize the funeral.

Finally, Cook thought about himself. Everything seemed to be going his way before that morning. A few months earlier, he had signed a massive $63 million contract, one that could provide generational wealth for a family that didn’t have much growing up in South Florida.

He thought about how his dad had pushed him, prodding that Dalvin credits for helping him get to this point. He needled Dalvin in a way no others could. And he thought about how his dad in the last few months kept telling him how proud he was of him. Those words meant so much. Now his dad was gone and Cook had one other thought.

How would he go on?

The first time Cook cast a line into the water behind his rental house this summer, he reeled in a massive catfish. He looked to the sky, sure that was his dad looking down on him.

While he fished alone, his thoughts often turned to this football season. He wanted 2,000 yards of offense a year ago but just missed it after skipping the Vikings’ meaningless Week 17 game for his dad’s funeral.

Now he wants to hit that mark for his dad. Long ago, James swapped his motivational tactics for pride in his son. He loved watching him in the NFL and loved seeing Cook become one of the league’s brightest stars and best running backs. He was thrilled when Dalvin was named a captain of the Vikings a year ago.

“Before he passed, he used to tell me so much: ‘I’m so proud of you,'” Cook said. “Like I knew I was having a good year, but just to hear him tell me, ‘I’m proud of you.’ Man …”

Cook’s voice trailed off. He’s thought a lot about his dad since taking the field at training camp last month. It feels different playing since his dad passed. He wants to play in a way that would make his dad proud.

“I’ve just been feeling different,” Cook said. “I feel like I’ve got a different purpose when I’m playing football. When I say I’m dedicating the season to him, those reps when I’m tired, I’ve got something bigger to think about. It always used to be, ‘I’m trying to feed my family and win games.’ But (now) I’ve got some big things to think about.

“Like, ‘Pops would want me to score right here. Don’t be tired.’ This whole season is definitely for him because there’s so much more that he’d want me to accomplish in my career. I’m just getting started. There’s still so much more that I can accomplish, and I’m going to go do it because I know that’s what my dad would want. Everything I’ve got, it’s going to be for him.”

Cook still thinks about that missed call from his dad the night before he passed. What was he going to say? Did he know the end was near? What would he have said about the man Dalvin had become if he knew it was his last night?

Cook will never know. He wishes he had one last conversation with his dad, but he’s at peace with it now. His attention has shifted to a 2021 season where the Vikings will rely heavily on him as they hope to get back to the playoffs.

He doesn’t have any grand celebration or pregame ritual in mind to commemorate his dad. But Cook will be thinking about him every time he runs onto the field.

“He’s why I come out with a smile every day,” Cook said. “Life is short. Enjoy it.”