Dalvin Cook 'Making Excellent Progress' In Recovery From Shoulder Surgery

The veteran running back should be healthier in 2023. Will he still be with the Vikings?

Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, who had surgery in February to fix a shoulder issue that he's played through since 2019, is "making excellent progress" in his post-surgery recovery, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

"Vikings RB Dalvin Cook was recently in Minnesota for a post-surgery checkup on his shoulder and is said to be making excellent progress, per sources," Pelissero tweeted. "Cook played the last three seasons while protecting the injured shoulder, which is now 100% stable and stronger."

The surgery was a repair of a torn labrum. Beginning this year, it should mean Cook no longer deals with any sort of shoulder problems, which popped up numerous times over the last four seasons. He initially suffered the injury in 2019 but was able to play through it and produce at a high level most of the time. Occasionally, contact would aggravate the injury and Cook would either miss a brief amount of time or play with a harness under his shoulder pads.

The question is now is whether or not Cook, who turns 28 in August, will still be a member of the Vikings this fall. He's a notable trade or release candidate for several reasons. Cook has a $14.1 million cap hit in 2023 and two more years left on his deal after that, he's coming off the worst season of his career by advanced metrics, and the Vikings recently brought back Alexander Mattison on a two-year, $7 million deal, which seems like more than you'd pay someone to remain a true backup RB.

Once Cook is fully recovered, a trade becomes more feasible because he could pass a physical with a new team.

Cook has made four consecutive Pro Bowls. Over the past four seasons, only Derrick Henry has more yards from scrimmage than Cook's 6,423. He's played in 58 of a possible 66 regular season games during that span, after appearing in just 15 of 32 over his first two seasons.

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