Dalvin Cook’s season could be finished after only four games.
The Vikings running back suffered an injury to his left knee in the third quarter of the Vikings’ 14-7 loss to Detroit on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, and coach Mike Zimmer said the team is concerned that Cook damaged his anterior cruciate ligament.
Zimmer said Cook will have an MRI on Monday, although it’s common for teams to have an MRI performed on Sunday evening in situations like this.
Cook, whom the Vikings took in the second round of last April’s draft, was on crutches and had a brace on his left knee as he entered the locker room after Sunday’s game. He didn’t speak to reporters.
Cook was injured on a first-and-10 play from the Vikings 18-yard line as he took a handoff from quarterback Case Keenum and burst ahead for 10 yards before his knee appeared to buckle and he dropped the ball in pain. It was recovered by the Lions and Detroit went 29 yards on five plays for a touchdown to take a seven-point lead.
Cook left the field under his power after being injured and eventually walked to the locker room without assistance. Cook, who entered the game with the second-most rushing yards in the NFL this season, finished with 66 yards on 13 carries and also caught one pass for 8 yards.
“I just went in and talked to him and I told him that he’s not the first great running back to have an ACL, if it is one,” Zimmer said.
The Vikings later lost running back Jerick McKinnon to an ankle injury. The severity of that injury was not immediately known.
Latavius Murray, signed as a free agent from Oakland in March, replaced Cook as the Vikings’ primary running back and rushed for 21 yards on seven carries.
As for what changes for the offense if Cook is lost, Zimmer said: “Dalvin’s a really explosive player. He has such big-play abilities so we’ll have to look at things differently. If you lose a guy like him, you lose a lot of firepower.”