When Dalvin Cook clutched his knee and fell to the U.S. Bank Stadium turf back on Oct. 1, everyone suspected it was serious. Knees don’t just buckle like that.
Running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu seemed to sense the severity, too. As Cook, the Minnesota Vikings star rookie ball-carrier, gingerly walked off the field, his position coach was there waiting with a hug and a word of advice — just seconds after Cook’s promising season had likely been terminated.
“He just told me to stay strong, man,” Cook recalled as he spoke to the media for the first time since his injury. “He knows how tough I am, and I know how tough I am. Me and coach K.P., we’ve got a great relationship. He comes in and makes sure I’m all right in the locker room, just talking to me. We’ve got a great relationship. He just told me to stay strong.”
Polamalu isn’t the only one who has delivered messages of support to Cook, who suffered a torn ACL that October afternoon against Detroit.
Cook’s locker is adjacent to Teddy Bridgewater’s — who better to lean on for knee-injury advice? Bridgewater called Cook on the phone every day when the running back returned to Florida for surgery.
He’s also bonded with the other Vikings quarterback, Sam Bradford, who has become Cook’s training-room pal.
Jeremiah Sirles, Case Keenum and Latavius Murray have offered tips from their own experiences. All three suffered torn ACLs prior to their pro careers.
Xavier Rhodes and trainer Eric Sugarman are routinely cracking jokes to keep the mood light.
If there’s any consolation for Cook, it’s that he is part of an organization that has, regrettably, become uncannily good at dealing with serious injuries.
“I’ll just come back better than ever,” said Cook. “It’s truly my opinion. It’s just all about how you attack this thing. I just feels like it was a blessing in disguise. I probably needed a break from the hits I was taking in college, or something like that.
“I use all this stuff in motivation and just put it in my rehab and just go after it. That’s the only way you’re going to get through this process. It’s tough, man, but it’s a good journey, and I’m willing to take on the challenge.”
Cook got off crutches last week and started lifting this week. He wears a sleeve around his left leg. He says his time away from the field has allowed him to do more observing as he continues to get his bearings with the professional routine.
“I’m still learning how to be a pro,” Cook said, “but I’m taking those steps forward, and I think this injury, it’s helping me keep progressing. Sitting back and watching how these guys get stuff done, how Latavius [Murray] and Jet (Jerick McKinnon) take care of their body, how they do stuff around here. I’m still taking those steps.”
Murray and McKinnon have picked up where Cook left off. As a team, the Vikings averaged 115 rushing yards in the three full games Cook played. In the five games since his injury, they’ve averaged 126. They are 11th in the league in rushing yards per game after being dead last a season ago.
While neither McKinnon or Murray have carried as big an individual load as Cook did for three games, the tandem has run well behind Minnesota’s improved offensive line. And nobody is a bigger fan of the team’s two-headed monster than Cook, the man who is relegated to watching road games from his home television.
“You be in the house with me when they’re playing,” Cook said with a smile. “I’d be yelling and screaming because they’re balling, man. That group, I know what they’re capable of. I know what they can do.”
Three of the most visible Vikings have dealt with recent knee injuries, and all are at different stages. Bradford is coming off arthroscopic surgery with an unclear timetable. Bridgewater has completed his rehab and is waiting to test the knee in a game. Cook is hitting the first benchmarks of a journey that will likely take him into next summer.
Bridgewater, who needed over a year to recover from a dislocated knee, likes what he sees from the rookie.
“He has the right mindset as far as attacking his therapy, and having gone through a knee injury last year, he can lean on me,” Bridgewater said. “I give him different advice, and I know what it takes with having someone around that keeps you lifted. I try to be that guy for Dalvin.”
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