Mike Zimmer was prepared for the bad news on Dalvin Cook, and after he got it, the Vikings coach began looking forward. What now?
“I think the biggest thing was Dalvin had unbelievable big-play ability in a lot of different ways,” Zimmer said, via quotes distributed by the team. “We are going to have to continue to look for more ways to implement some big plays in the offense, probably.”
The Vikings have free-agent pickup Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon. Murray played 19 snaps and had seven carries for 21 yards Sunday, while McKinnon played 10 snaps and had two carries for no yards.
Murray, who had 1,000-yard season for the Raiders in 2015, likely carries the bulk of the load. He had offseason ankle surgery, and Zimmer disputed Murray’s comment after the game that his ankle isn’t 100 percent.
“I think you misconstrued what he said, because I talked to him about it and he said that no one is really 100 percent,” Zimmer said. “Any time you have surgery on something, you’re never going to be 100 percent. But he said he’s ready to go, and we are ready to have him go.”
The Vikings will consider signing another running back, Zimmer said. They have Bronson Hill on the practice squad, and fullback C.J. Ham also can play tailback.
Cook will have surgery on his torn ACL once the swelling goes down, Zimmer said, and will end his promising rookie season on injured reserve.
“He’s a great kid,” Zimmer said. “Extremely impressed with everything he’s done, to this point. It’s, obviously, a terrible thing for him and for us. We’ll move forward and go on from there. He’s a great worker and I have no doubt that he’ll come back from this.”