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Minnesota Vikings second-year running back Dalvin Cook hasn’t had the easiest route in the NFL. Although he had an electrifying start to his rookie season, he ended up tearing his ACL, which put his first year on hold for the Vikings.
This year, Cook was able to start once again at the beginning of the year, but his injury problems did not end in his rookie year. Now, Cook is dealing with a hamstring injury that continues to keep him off the field on the gameday.
Cook hadn’t seen the field since week four, where he only accounted for 20 yards off of 10 carries before the Vikings ruled him out. Since then, he’s been nothing but a spectator on the sidelines. While the Vikings are trying to remain optimistic about a return coming soon, the truth is that he might end up missing another few weeks.
Is There a Timetable for Return?
NFL Insider Field Yates looked into the situation, and the emergence of Latavius Murray could make the Vikings more comfortable with Cook missing more time. There’s no reason for the team to rush him back out there right now as the Vikings are rolling without Cook once again this season. Considering that Cook is only in year two and has had two significant injuries already, their best bet is to keep him out for as long as possible while he gets healthy.
Now, for fantasy owners, the situation is probably frustrating, which is understandable. But by now, Cook owners should’ve already had their backup plan by picking up Latavius Murray, who has had a stellar past two weeks. If not, it might be time to buy into Murray, or somebody else if possible since Cook could realistically be out for another few weeks.
Even when Cook returns, the Vikings will most likely ease his way back into the game, which means Murray will still probably take up a good chunk of the workload during the first few weeks of Cook’s return. So, relying heavily on Cook’s return at this point is becoming pointless as he may not be fully one-hundred percent until around fantasy playoffs time.
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