Who's worse off: Vikings without Dalvin Cook or Cook without the Vikings?

As the Vikings became less enamored with longtime Dalvin Cook's production relative to his cost, it became clear that the sides were moving toward moving on from each other this offseason.

Cook's fate might have been sealed, at least unofficially, when Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell addressed the running game at the NFL Scouting Combine.

"It comes down to efficiency," O'Connell said. "The home runs and long [runs] are great, but as a play caller, I'd love to be second-and-5."

The message: Cook's game-breaking ability, which helped the Vikings to important wins over Miami and Buffalo last season and had served both the back and the Vikings nicely for six seasons, was no longer enough to offset his downside. Cook was aging, and his negative runs that put the Vikings in second-and-long situations were too often hampering O'Connell and QB Kirk Cousins' ability to run the offense smoothly.

The Vikings re-signed Cook's backup, Alexander Mattison, to a two-year deal and made him the primary ball carrier. Cook got a one-year deal with the Jets as they loaded up to try to win a Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers.

And as I talked about on Friday's Daily Delivery podcast, it hasn't really worked out for either the Vikings or Cook so far.

Mattison has delivered runs of 5 or more yards on a slightly higher percentage of his carries this season (40%) vs. Cook last season (34%), but Mattison also has gained 2 yards or fewer on 44% of his carries — slightly more than Cook (42%) a year ago.

Mattison hasn't had a run longer than 19 yards all season. The Vikings are 30th in the NFL in rushing yards per game and have yet to score a rushing touchdown, making them neither very efficient nor explosive. Mattison is essentially in a time share with Cam Akers, who wasn't even on the roster when the season started.

Cook, meanwhile, had just three carries in the Jets' most recent game and has fallen into a clear No. 2 role behind the fast-healing Breece Hall. Cook is last among 44 qualified ball carriers with a 2.8 yards per rush average, while Hall is No. 1 at 6.5 yards per carry.

As a result, Cook said Thursday he's going to talk to his agent and Jets management about the possibility of a trade before Tuesday's deadline.

So this is not to say the Vikings made the wrong decision about Cook. But their hopes of a beefed-up running game have not materialized, just as Cook's hopes of a career rejuvenation in New York have not worked out, either.

Here are four more things to know today:

*Also on today's show, La Velle E. Neal III joined me to talk about the Twins, Gophers football and his recent visit to the St. Thomas campus.

*When Chris Hine wrote in his piece about Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards that their relationship and the team's pecking order is "the kind of discussion that makes perfect fodder for message boards, social media threads, talk radio and podcasts," it felt like he was staring directly into my soul.

*LeBron on a minutes restriction? That lasted exactly one game. When the Lakers needed him, he blew past 30 minutes and helped the Lakers beat the short-handed Suns.

*Is the Gus Bus running out of gas this early in the season, or is a leaky Wild defense to blame for the big numbers opponents have been putting up so far this season?