Dalvin Cook Injury Update Remains Optimistic for Week 14 Fantasy Outlook Against Lions

By Dan Israeli | Dec 8, 2019, 12:10 PM EST

Dalvin Cook has been a beast in fantasy this season, and was on his way to another big performance in Week 13 before a shoulder injury knocked him out of the game.

Despite the injury seeming severe at the time, Cook practiced in full on Friday and was left off the final injury report, solidifying his status for Week 14 against the Detroit Lions.

Cook said he has been dealing with the shoulder issue prior to the Vikings' loss to the Seattle Seahawks on "Monday Night Football," noting that he was hit in the same spot against the Denver Broncos in Week 11.

While the injury may end up being a matter of pain tolerance, Vikings' head coach Mike Zimmer said Cook was close to 100 percent heading into the crucial home matchup with the Lions.

While Cook is likely going to play, it is unclear how much rushing work he will cede to rookie Alexander Mattison, who looked impressive in Week 14 with eight total touches for 73 yards.

Even if Cook feels fine prior to the game, it's tough for any RB to avoid shoulder contact through the course of a game, leaving Cook vulnerable to an in-game aggravation of the injury.

While his workload and re-injury concerns are tough to ignore, Cook's owners should have no choice but to fire up the RB in fantasy lineups this week, with a plus matchup against the Lions, who are allowing the third-most fantasy points to running backs. Cook is the second ranked RB in our Week 14 PPR rankings.

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