Dalvin Cook still not 100% after hamstring injury

If fans of the Minnesota Vikings are hoping for an injection of life into the NFL’s worst rushing offense in Week 5, it doesn’t sound as though they should expect it from second-year running back Dalvin Cook.

According to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Cook is “still healing” from the hamstring injury he suffered in overtime of the team’s Week 2 tie in Green Bay.

“The thing is still healing up,” Cook said. “I want to be 100 percent as bad as everybody else wants me to be 100 percent, but I’m just not there yet. I’ve just got to keep chipping away, but I’m going to be ready when the time comes.”

After sitting out of Week 3, Cook had 10 carries for 20 yards in the first half of Thursday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams, but did not see the field in the second half. . .something that he says was by design.

“I knew I wasn’t 100 percent yet, so that was just part of the plan,’” he said.

The Vikings’ entire rushing game has suffered during the first four games, as their 63 yards/game average is the worst in the NFL, and their 3.5 yards/carry average is third from the bottom. They’re also the only team in the National Football League that has not scored a rushing touchdown through the first quarter of the season.

Cook came into the season with high expectations placed on him after missing much of his rookie season with a torn ACL following a hot start.

Offensive coordinator John DeFilippo sounds more optimistic about things than Cook does, if that’s any consolation.

“We’re looking forward to hopefully getting him for the whole game,” said DeFilippo, who was Philadelphia’s quarterbacks coach the past two seasons.

We’ll have to see what happens, but if the Vikings want to regain any semblence of offensive balance in an effort not to have Kirk Cousins throw 50 passes every week, a healthy Dalvin Cook couldn’t possibly hurt things.