Dalvin Cook was quickly ruled out in the second half. Cook appeared to run into his own blocker and immediately held onto his left arm. He was taken to the medical tent and evaluated or a shoulder injury.
Before the season we warned that Cook was at high risk of another shoulder injury. He had surgery years ago for a torn labrum, and then had ongoing shoulder problems last season. Cook subluxed it multiples times, meaning it partially dislocated. That led to another labrum tear. I suspected he would get surgery in the offseason to repair the labrum, but that didn’t happen. The labrum is important for stability, so when it is damaged the shoulder is at risk of another dislocation. Each time it pops out that labrum tear can get worse.
Now Cook could be looking at another absence. If that tear got worse he could even need season-ending surgery. He was able to play through it in 2021, but the worse it gets the harder that is to do. Expect Cook to undergo an MRI on Monday to compare to his previous MRI.
It could be Alexander Mattison time in Minnesota.