4 reasons why the Vikings might not extend Dalvin Cook

Cook isn’t durable

As exciting as Dalvin Cook has been so far in his career, he’s proven to be just as fragile. Cook has played in 31 games in three seasons (including the playoffs), which means he’s missed a total of 19 matchups. That’s over an entire season that he’s been on the sidelines and not on the field.

Cook sustained injuries to his shoulder and chest in 2019 and it caused him to miss time in four of the Vikings; games. These injuries also kept him at about half of his effectiveness when he tried to power through and play with the pain.

After tearing his ACL in 2017, Cook missed the majority of his rookie season and a handful of games his second year as well. Sure these injuries weren’t his fault, but the fact they keep occurring is worrisome.

Minnesota has no reason to believe that Cook won’t get injured again during the upcoming season. His career in the NFL displays a track record of getting hurt and at this point, it’s more likely that he’s going to miss games than put together a complete season.

The Vikings can use this as leverage in their negotiations with Cook, and offer him a lower number because of it. If his camp balks at the deal, Minnesota might be wise to not invest any more money on a player who can’t seem to stay healthy.