MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings are parting ways with star running back Dalvin Cook for salary cap savings after his fourth consecutive season surpassing the 1,000-yard rushing mark.

Cook has been informed he will be released, a person familiar with the team’s decision told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Vikings have not announced the move.

Cook, in just six years with the Vikings, is third on the franchise’s all-time rushing list with 5,993 yards. He’s fifth in rushing attempts (1,282) and fourth in rushing touchdowns (47).

Cook was scheduled to count more than $14.1 million against Minnesota’s salary cap, which would have been the third-highest figure for a running back in the league behind Derrick Henry and Nick Chubb. Cutting him would chop $9 million off the team’s cap charges for this year. The Vikings would remain on the hook for more than $5.1 million in dead money for the prorated remainder of the signing bonus from the extension he signed prior to the 2020 season, according to data compiled by Over The Cap.

Cook, who will turn 28 in August, has made the Pro Bowl for four straight years. But he has not been present for the team’s voluntary offseason workouts, and his future with the club has been unclear since the Vikings re-signed his backup, Alexander Mattison, to a two-year, $7 million contract seen as too luxurious for a second-stringer.

PANTHERS: Bryce Young’s time is now in Carolina.

The Panthers have given Young the first-team reps in practice this week, a move that Coach Frank Reich called the next step in the rookie quarterback’s progression.

Reich anticipates Young will continue to get first-team reps “for now” as the Panthers prepare for their mandatory minicamp session next week and training camp at the end of July. Reich stopped short of naming Young the team’s starting quarterback this season, saying there is plenty of time to make that decision.

“Not yet,” Reich said. “But he has shown everything you want to see. You don’t make a decision until you have to make it. We will just keep giving him the opportunity to get better and earn that starting role. So far he and a lot of guys have taken the steps needed to earn that spot, but we don’t have to make that decision yet. So we will keep chugging along.”

Young, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, took over first-team reps from veteran Andy Dalton earlier this week, but Thursday was the first time reporters were allowed at practice.

BRONCOS: Denver agreed to a one-year deal with former Kansas City Chiefs edge rusher Frank Clark, following third-year pro Baron Browning’s knee operation, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

Clark, who turns 30 next week, was cut recently by the Chiefs in a cost-saving move. He’s a ninth-year pro who had five sacks for the Super Bowl champs last season. He spent his first four seasons in Seattle, collecting 35 sacks and 72 quarterback hits.

RAMS: Representatives for Demarcus Robinson confirmed on social media that the veteran wide receiver is joining Los Angeles.

Robinson was Baltimore’s second-leading receiver last year with 48 catches for 458 yards and two touchdowns despite starting only five games. He spent the first six years of his NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs, catching 145 passes for 1,679 yards and 14 TDs.

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