Dalvin Cook Expected to Play Against Jaguars Despite Hits Adding Up
In each of the past two games, Dalvin Cook has caused Vikings fans everywhere to hold their breath by staying down on the field for several minutes after fumbling.
It happened against the Cowboys after a huge hit from safety Donovan Wilson. That one likely just knocked the wind out of Cook, as he was able to return to the game. Then it happened again early in the third quarter on Sunday, with Cook staying down after being involved in a big pile-up that resulted in a second consecutive Panthers defensive touchdown.
Cook injured his ankle on the play and was helped off the field by trainers. He spent some time in the blue medical tent on the sideline, but was able to return to the field. However, Cook only touched the ball five times during the final 29 minutes of game time after handling 17 touches during the first 31 minutes.
Despite the injury, Cook is expected to play this week against the Jaguars, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. "He said he feels good, so we’ll just see where he’s at," Mike Zimmer said on Monday.
The hits are beginning to pile up and take a toll on Cook, it seems. In addition to the two scares over the past two weeks, he missed 1.5 games with a groin injury in October and briefly left the field in Green Bay.
Last week, I wrote at length about how Cook's workload was becoming dangerous. He had handled 32-plus touches in three of the past four games prior to last Sunday and took a ton of hits against the Bears and Cowboys in particular. Cook was on pace for another 30-touch game against the Panthers until suffering the ankle injury.
The Vikings need to be careful with their star running back, whose injury history since entering the league in 2017 is well-documented. That likely means taking things easy with him in practice this week, which is typically the case regardless of his health. It could also mean limiting his role against the 1-10 Jaguars on Sunday, even though that's a must-win game for Minnesota's playoff hopes.
In an interview with KFAN radio on Tuesday, offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak acknowledged that Cook has gotten banged up recently.
“You know what I think, he’s just beat up,” Kubiak said. “He’s been hit pretty hard the last couple of weeks, taken some poundings. It’s at that point of the season, so we’ve got to get him freshened up this week and get him back to being himself. But I think he’s just kind of beat up over the past couple of weeks.”
In an ideal world, the Vikings would get a big lead against the Jaguars and be able to rest Cook in the second half. But if that doesn't happen, it'll be interesting to see if he pushes towards 30 touches again despite not being at 100 percent.
Cook was limited to 82 yards from scrimmage on 22 touches against Carolina, which was his lowest yardage total since Week 2. It was also just the second game all year in which he didn't score a touchdown.
A big game from Derrick Henry on Sunday propelled the Titans star to a 127-yard lead over Cook in the NFL rushing race. Henry is at 1,257 yards and Cook is at 1,130, although Cook is ahead by 35 in yards from scrimmage. Cook also still leads the league with 13 rushing touchdowns (Henry has 12) and is tied with Tyreek Hill for the league lead with 14 total touchdowns.
Sunday's game will pit the league's No. 2 rusher in Cook against its No. 3 rusher in Jacksonville's James Robinson. The undrafted rookie from Illinois State has 890 rushing yards through 11 games.
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