Dalvin Cook Has Surgery to Repair Shoulder Injury

It's Another Positive Update for RB Dalvin Cook Post-Shoulder Surgery
Vikings running back Dalvin Cook. © JAMIE GERMANO / USA TODAY NETWORK.

Dalvin Cook seemingly had one of the healthier seasons of his career in 2022, playing all 17 regular season games. It was the first time in his NFL career that he didn’t miss any games due to injury. However, on Tuesday morning, news came out that Cook has now undergone shoulder surgery to repair an injury from 2019 as reported by Adam Schefter.

Cook broke his shoulder during the 2019 season, but he only missed two games during that season and played in each of Minnesota’s playoff games against the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers. Cook finished that 2019 regular season with 250 rushing attempts for 1135 yards and 13 TDs.

However, that injury has continued to pop up in recent years. Even in 2022, Cook re-aggravated the injury against the Detroit Lions in Week 4. The injury forced him to wear a brace for the remainder of the season, but he didn’t have any issues for the remainder of the season.

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Dec 20, 2020; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports.

Cook’s agent, as quoted in Schefter’s tweet, suggested that the surgery won’t impact the running back’s availability for the start of the 2023 season by saying, “Dalvin has been absolutely dominant, and we cannot wait until September.”

The Vikings Pro Bowl running back certainly has been one of the more consistent players in the NFL, and 2022 was his fourth consecutive season during which he rushed for over 1000 yards. However, it was also his least efficient path to 1000 yards of his career. Cook averaged just 4.4 yards per carry on his way to 264 rushing attempts and 1173 yards.

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Sep 25, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports.

Now, heading into 2023, the soon-to-be 28-year-old running back is set to carry a cap hit of $14.1 million. This is the sixth-highest total cap hit of any running back in the NFL, behind only Aaron Jones, Ezekiel Elliott, Derrick Henry, Alvin Kamara, and Nick Chubb.

Perhaps the surgery will help Cook come back for a fully healthy season in 2023, but it will be interesting to see how the Vikings approach his contract this offseason. Of course, there is a report out there that Cook will not be willing to take a pay cut in 2023. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will have to make a big decision regarding the Vikings six-year back this offseason.

Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.

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