Vikings RB Dalvin Cook Undergoes Surgery on Bothersome Shoulder

Vikings running back Dalvin Cook had surgery on Tuesday to repair a broken shoulder that he has played through since 2019, according to his representation via ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Vikings’ Pro-Bowl RB Dalvin Cook, who is second in the NFL in total yards since 2019, underwent surgery today to fix the broken shoulder he suffered in that same year, 2019. “Dalvin has been absolutely dominant and we cannot wait until September,” said his agency @LAASportsEnt.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 14, 2023

2019 was Cook's breakout season, as he racked up 1,654 yards and 13 touchdowns in just 14 games after missing big chunks of his first two seasons due to injury. Even with those incredible numbers, he was hampered by a shoulder injury late in the season and was unavailable for a key Week 16 game against the Packers.

Cook has been able to play through the injury since then. He had a career year in 2020 with 1,918 yards and 17 touchdowns in 14 games, trailing only Derrick Henry in yards from scrimmage that season. Cook missed four games in 2021. He played all 17 this past season, but his efficiency and effectiveness fell off a cliff.

Shoulder issues have popped up at times since Cook's initial 2019 injury, causing him to wear a harness periodically and miss a few games. He also has 16 fumbles since 2019 — tied with Melvin Gordon for the most among non-quarterbacks in that span — and his shoulder could've theoretically been a factor in that regard.

The big question this offseason is whether or not Cook will be back in Minnesota for a seventh season with the Vikings. He has three more years of big cap hits left on a five-year extension that kicked in during the 2021 campaign. There are numerous factors that suggest the team may decide to move on this offseason:

Cook's advanced metrics plummeted to the bottom of the league in 2022.
The Vikings passed the ball at the league's third-highest rate last season in year one under Kevin O'Connell.
GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah comes from an analytics background; a common analytical NFL theory is that there's no need to pay running backs top dollar when you can find cheap, effective ones late in the draft.
The Vikings need to create salary cap space.

Indications are that Cook has no plans to take a pay cut. That means the Vikings could look to trade him or release him if they don't plan on bringing him back in 2023.

According to Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap, Cook's surgery "should lock in his $2 million (injury) guarantee for the year." That adds $2 million in dead cap if the Vikings cut Cook, which is notable but may not be enough to change the team's decision-making process. The surgery also may complicate his trade market, as he'll need to recover before being able to pass a physical.

It's also not a sure thing that the Vikings move on from Cook this year. He's still a talented running back coming off four consecutive Pro Bowl seasons, and maybe they think he can have a bounce-back year with a fully healthy shoulder.

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