Dalvin Cook injury update: Vikings RB leaves with knee injury

Dalvin Cook was helped off the field on Sunday after suffering a non-contact knee injury.

Minnesota Vikings rookie running back Dalvin Cook left Week 4’s contest against the Detroit Lions after suffering what appeared to be a non-contact knee injury. Cook clutched his knee after making a cut on a run, fumbling the ball in the process.

The turnover wasn’t what Vikings fans were holding their breath about, it was the knee and the way Cook went down.

The extent of the injury isn’t yet known, but it didn’t look good. Anytime a player suffers a non-contact injury it’s typically something that ends well. No matter the long-term effect, the Vikings seem to be shutting Cook down for the day.

That’s not a good omen. It’s early, but this has all the makings of an ACL injury of some kind, whether it’s a tear or a sprain of some sort.

UPDATE: It appears that Cook indeed as suffered an ACL injury, with reports indicating it’s a complete tear.

Cook was running his way into the hearts of Vikings fans all over, putting up numbers that made everyone forget about the departure of Adrian Peterson. If not for Kareem Hunt looking like Jim Brown and Walter Payton stitched together as one person, Cook would be the top rookie running back in football. Even with Hunt out-running the entire league, Cook is a top back in the entire league, not just among rookies, so losing him is a giant blow to the Vikings offensive dynamic.

The way Cook was running helped open up the offense’s passing attack and was aiding in making Case Keenum look so good. Take that away and the Vikings still have running backs in Latavius Murray and Jerrick McKinnon but neither are as dynamic as Cook.

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If the Vikings are to be without Cook for the rest of the season, or even an extended period of time, it’s going to put a ton of stress on a team that just looked to be finding its groove.