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Breaking: Dalvin Cook Diagnosed with Torn ACL

Vikings rookie running back Dalvin Cook has been officially diagnosed with a torn ACL, an MRI confirmed Monday morning. He will undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the 2017 season.

Cook injured his knee early in the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Lions when, on a 10-yard run, he attempted to make a cut. Without any contact, Cook’s foot hit the turf awkwardly, causing his knee to cave in. He immediately reached for his knee while falling, fumbling the ball in the process. Though Cook was able to walk to the sideline mostly under his own power, it was with a heavy limp and he was clearly in immense pain. The emotion he showed on the sideline indicated that he knew his season was likely over.

Viking doctors diagnosed him as suffering a “near-complete tear” of his ACL, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport reported after the game. Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon split the rest of the carries in Cook’s absence.

With Minnesota now without arguably its best offensive weapon, it will be interesting to see how they look to fill the hole. They gave Murray a lot of money in the offseason theoretically with the idea he would factor into the running game. That has yet to be the case.

While unlikely, it is possible the Vikings trade to bring Adrian Peterson back into town; he has seen limited action in his first season with New Orleans and he has stated publicly he is unhappy with his role there.

If Minnesota is more interested in looking to free agency, the cupboard is fairly bare. But former Carolina Panther and Pittburgh Steeler DeAngelo Williams is available. He performed well for the Steelers in 2015 when Le’Veon Bell went down with a torn MCL midway through the season.

For now, the burden will likely be distributed between Murray and McKinnon. Receiver Michael Floyd returns today from his four-game suspension, so that should also add an element to the offense.

–Sam Smith is the Managing Editor for cover32/Vikings. Like and Follow @samc_smith Follow @cover32_MIN

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