Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook (33) tries to get by Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward during their game last season. Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI |
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Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook could make his preseason debut Friday night against the Seattle Seahawks.
Cook sat out the first two exhibition contests and has not played since suffering a torn ACL that ended his 2017 rookie campaign after four games.
Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFilippo told the Star-Tribune of Minneapolis that he will sit down with head coach Mike Zimmer this week to map out a strategy for Cook.
"We're looking forward to possibly seeing him out there," said DeFilippo, per the newspaper.
Cook was held out of last weekend's preseason game against Jacksonville for what the team termed precautionary reasons, even though Minnesota said prior to training camp that the second-year back will not face any limitations.
The Vikings made a roster move on Tuesday, signing rookie center Jacob Judd out of Western Illinois.
Judd, an FCS third-team All-American in 2017, tried out for the team during its rookie minicamp in May.
The 23-year-old Cook, a second-round draft pick out of Florida State in the 2017 NFL Draft, burst onto the scene by rushing for 127 yards on 22 carries in his professional debut.
Cook amassed 354 yards rushing on 74 attempts, averaging a robust 4.8 yards per carry, before suffering a torn ACL in Week 4 against the Detroit Lions last season.
The 5-foot-10, 210-pounder scored a rushing touchdown in each of his final two games before he was hurt. He also had 11 receptions for 90 yards.
At Florida State, Cook rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his three seasons, including a career-high 1,765 yards in 2016. Cook piled up 46 rushing touchdowns in 38 games for the Seminoles, scoring 19 times on the ground in each of his final two seasons.