Vikings Running Back Dalvin Cook Carted Off the Field With Shoulder Injury vs. 49ers

Cook went down after an awkward tackle against the 49ers and was quickly ruled out for the game.

Vikings superstar running back Dalvin Cook was carted off the field in Santa Clara after suffering an injury in the third quarter against the 49ers.

The Vikings quickly ruled Cook out with a shoulder injury. He went down on an awkward-looking tackle and seemed to have his right leg bent uncomfortably. But while Cook was down and being attended to by trainers, he was holding his upper body on the left side.

A shoulder injury is presumably better news than a knee injury, but that obviously depends on the severity of the issue. Cook has had shoulder injuries in the past, which adds to the concern with this specific injury.

Update: It's a shoulder dislocation for Cook, per NFL Network. He'll have an MRI on Monday to determine the damage.

This is awful news for the Vikings. Cook is not only one of their most talented players, he's one of the leaders of the team, on and off the field. All we can do now is hope that the injury isn't as serious as it looked.

The entire Vikings bench, along with a bunch of 49ers players, came out onto the field as a tearful Cook was carted off. That shows the respect he has not only in the Vikings' locker room, but around the league.

Cook had 103 yards from scrimmage on 16 touches before exiting the game. The Vikings are down to Alexander Mattison and Kene Nwangwu — both of whom scored touches in the third quarter — at running back. Nwangwu's TD was his second 99-yard kickoff return this month.

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