Dalvin Cook Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

The Vikings are releasing RB Dalvin Cook, according to multiple reports. The move (or a trade) has been anticipated all offseason. His departure leaves Alexander Mattison as the top candidate to lead Minnesota's backfield, and there's big volume upside. Cook ranked 11th among RBs in opportunity share last season, the team's first under HC Kevin O'Connell. Ty Chandler, DeWayne McBride and Kene Nwangwu will compete for roles behind Mattison. Cook now hits the open market, ready to significantly alter the RB projections for some new team. Check our fantasy football RB rankings for updated numbers.

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer hears that RB Dalvin Cook is now likely to remain with the Vikings for the 2023 season. "The Vikings have told other teams they're cap clean now, so there’s no urgency at this point to offload Cook," Breer writes. It sounds like Cook might still be available if another team was hot for him, but that seems unlikely considering Cook's age (28 in August), injury history, and cap hit ($14.1 million). We'll continue to keep an eye on this situation, but you should be drafting for now as if Cook will be a Viking this season.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler hears that the Vikings might cut RB Dalvin Cook before the NFL Draft at the end of this month. Cook compiled 1,468 total yards and 10 TDs last year, finishing 10th among RBs in PPR points. But he ranked just 41st among 48 qualifying RBs in rush yards over expected per attempt, turns 28 in August, and is recovering from shoulder surgery. Cook carries a $14.1 million cap hit in 2023, although releasing him would save Minnesota just $5.9 million. The Vikings have also talked to at least one team about a Cook trade, Fowler adds. (The Dolphins have previously been rumored to be interested.) We'll see where this goes over the next couple of weeks, but Cook is a risky pick in current best-ball drafts. His departure would leave RB Alexander Mattison atop Minnesota's depth chart -- barring a significant addition in the draft.

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook is making "excellent progress" in his recovery from mid-February shoulder surgery, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. That procedure addressed a broken shoulder that Cook suffered back in 2019 and has been playing through since. The shoulder is "now 100% stable and stronger," per Pelissero. It doesn't sound like this will impact Cook's availability for the 2023 season. He's been mentioned as a potential trade or even cut candidate -- but this shoulder issue might be holding up any potential move. Perhaps something transpires the week of the NFL Draft. Stay tuned.

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook underwent surgery today to address a broken shoulder that he suffered back in 2019, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. Cook has dealt with a plethora of shoulder issues throughout his football career: a labrum tear in 2014 at Florida State, a re-injury in college in 2016, the aforementioned 2019 injury, a dislocated shoulder and torn labrum in 2021 and another injury this past September. Cook's agency suggested in a statement that he'll be ready for the start of the 2023 season, but we'll look for more details on the procedure and Cook's exact timeline for return. He turns 28 in August.

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook tallied 15 carries for 60 rushing yards and 6 receptions on 7 targets for 10 yards in Sunday's Wild Card loss vs. the Giants. This inefficient outing is undoubtedly disappointing for fantasy managers who enlisted the help of Cook for points. It's worth noting that the Vikings have an out in Cook's contract that could make him a free agent in 2023 should they choose to exercise it. Such a move would carry a dead cap hit just north of $6 million and is merely hypothetical at this point. He'll be a name to watch this offseason just in case.

Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell said Friday that his regulars will start this weekend's game vs. the Bears but that there's a plan to potentially pull them early to get backups some reps, according to ESPN's Kevin Seifert. The Vikings can't get the NFC's #1 seed and can only climb from #3 to #2 with a 49ers loss to the Cardinals. QB Kirk Cousins, RB Dalvin Cook, WRs Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen and TE T.J. Hockenson are candidates to leave Sunday's game early.

Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell said Monday that he won't sit his starters in Sunday's regular-season finale vs. the Bears -- although he added that he could make "more subtle" adjustments to playing time. The Vikings can't get the NFC's #1 seed but are still alive for the #2 seed with a win plus a loss by the 49ers. Minnesota kicks off at 1 pm ET, while 49ers-Cardinals doesn't start until 4:25 pm ET, so there won't be any scoreboard watching going on. It's possible that the Vikings pull guys like QB Kirk Cousins, RB Dalvin Cook, WR Justin Jefferson and TE T.J. Hockenson if they build a big lead, but we're currently projecting full playing time for all of them.

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook managed just 27 yards on 9 carries in Sunday's lopsided loss to the Packers. He added just 2 catches for 17 more yards. It was Cook's fewest rushes and rushing yards since Week 2. The whole offense gets a better matchup at Chicago in Week 18.

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook ran for 95 yards on 17 carries in Saturday's comeback win over the Colts. He added 4 catches for 95 yards and the final TD of regulation. Big plays were key, as Cook scored from 64 yards out late in the 4th quarter. He used a 40-yard run to pump up his rushing total as well. Cook gets strongly positive rushing matchups with the Giants and Packers the next 2 weeks.

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook gained only 23 yards on 15 carries in Sunday's loss to the Lions, adding just 1 catch for 13 yards among 2 targets. He did score from 1 yard out in the 1st quarter to save his fantasy day. Week 15 holds an even tougher matchup with the Colts. More favorable spots against the Giants and Packers lie beyond that.

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook ran for 86 yards and a TD on 20 carries in Sunday's win over the Jets. He dominated backfield work, beating #2 RB Alexander Mattison by 17 attempts. Mattison scored the team's other rushing TD from 14 yards out in the 2nd quarter, however. Cook added 2 catches among 3 targets but lost 3 yards on those plays. (None went for a gain.) Minnesota heads to Detroit next week, a positive matchup for everyone on offense.

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook racked up 22 carries in Thursday night's win over the Patriots but managed only 42 yards (1.9 per rush). He added 4 catches among 5 targets but turned those into just 14 yards. It was Cook's 3rd-lowest total yardage of the year despite a season-high in opportunities. New England hit Week 12 as the league's toughest scoring matchup for RBs, according to our adjusted fantasy points allowed. The remaining schedule looks fairly neutral for him on that front, which obviously marks an improvement over the Patriots matchup.

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook recorded 14 carries, 119 yards and 1 TD in Week 11. Cook dashed 81 yards to the end zone on one attempt, his longest career run. Outside of that, however, he averaged only 2.92 YPC. And this was against a softer Bills defense missing several key starters. Cook lost a goal line TD to FB C.J. Ham, but he at least managed 3 catches for 27 yards. He’s now seen 17 targets over the past 3 weeks. Week 11 brings a Cowboys defense that was just torn up by Aaron Jones.

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook managed just 47 yards on 17 carries (2.8 per rush) in Sunday's win over the Commanders. He saved his fantasy football line with a 12-yard TD among his 2 receptions on 6 targets. Cook dominated backfield work, though, and remains a weekly starter. Week 10 pits him against a Buffalo defense that has gone softer against the run the past 2 games.

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook posted 77 yards and 1 score on 13 carries against the Dolphins in Week 6. The light workload was due in part to the Vikings running only 50 plays. Cook nearly busted, too, before he broke off a 53-yard TD run late in the 4th quarter. The veteran has now recorded 76+ rushing yards in 5 of 6 games this season. Just note that his receiving role remains light, as he garnered only 1 target. Cook owns only 5 catches over the past month. Next up is a Week 7 bye.

Vikings RB Alexander Mattison (shoulder) is active for today’s game vs. the Dolphins. He was limited in practice all week and listed as questionable, but we never heard much concern about his status. Mattison should be ready for his usual role today. He played a season-high 43% of Minnesota’s offensive snaps last week.

Vikings RB Alexander Mattison (shoulder) is expected to play vs. the Dolphins today, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Mattison is listed as questionable but should be ready for his usual #2 RB duties behind Dalvin Cook.

Vikings RB Alexander Mattison (shoulder) was limited in practice all week and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Dolphins. We haven’t heard any concern about his availability, but we’ll check his status on Sunday morning. Mattison’s absence would be a boost to RB Dalvin Cook.

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook assumed his usual rushing lead in Sunday's win over the Bears, racking up 18-94-2 on the ground to make fantasy football managers happy. But Alexander Mattison siphoned receiving opportunities for the 2nd straight week. Mattison drew 4 targets to Cook's 2, compared with the 18-9 carry split in Cook's favor. And Mattison actually ran 2 more routes than Cook this time after merely drawing close to Cook in that category in Week 4. This won't be a big issue as long as Minnesota wins but could cut into Cook's fantasy production when the Vikings trail. We'll watch to see if Minnesota alters the plan here as Cook moves further beyond his shoulder injury -- or if there's just a preference to get Mattison more involved with the passing game.