Amid reports linking him to the Jets, free agent running back Dalvin Cook offered his ex-girlfriend $1 million to clear him of domestic violence claims, according to a document filed in Dakota County District Court and obtained by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Cook made two settlement offers of $800,000, then $1 million, requesting that testimony be barred.
The initial cash offer mandated that Gracelyn Trimble, his accuser, deny the abuse accusation with a sworn affidavit, and the $1 million required that she send the NFL a letter stating that Cook did nothing wrong.
Trimble alleged in a November 2021 suit that Cook abused her, caused a concussion, then held her hostage at his residence in a Minneapolis suburb.
She claimed that she flew to Minneapolis in November 2020 to break up with Cook and asked him for help in collecting her belongings.
He then “grabbed her arm and slung her whole body over the couch, slamming her face into the coffee table and causing her lower forehead and the bridge of her nose to bust open.”
She alleged that Cook overpowered her and assaulted her again after that, later threatening and beating her with a broomstick.
A text message from Cook saying, “I know what I did can be rewind…If you wanna go to the police I’ll respect that I’ll take my punishment for what I did!” was included in the filing.
Cook countersued, claiming defamation and fraud.
Neither filed a police report at the time but filed after breaking up for good in May 2022.
The running back played all 17 games for the Vikings last season, rushing for 1,173 yards.
According to the Miami Herald, Cook is seeking around $10 million as a free agent.
Zac Hiller, Cook’s agent, said in a recent podcast interview that the Jets “have a great thing going” after the recent addition of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
For the Jets — which have Michael Carter and Breece Hall, who is returning from a torn ACL, at running back — to afford Cook, he would presumably need to take a pay cut.