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The first full day of Minnesota Vikings Training Camp is officially in the books, ladies and gentlemen. Eric is going to be along later with a full recap of what he saw today in Eagan, but from what’s being said on social media, there’s already a big reason for excitement beginning to emerge.
One of the major stories from this offseason was the health of running back Dalvin Cook. Cook, who looked to be a major factor in the Offensive Rookie of the Year race in 2017 before tearing his ACL, worked incredibly hard to ensure that he would be back for the start of camp, and it looks like it’s paid off nicely.
Here are some of the things that folks that were at the Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center today had to say about Cook:
Dalvin Cook said he was full go and boy was he. Taking a lot of reps today in the first full-squad practice. Showing no issues with that knee. No brace. #Vikings #VIKINGSCAMP
— Brian Hall (@MNBrianHall) July 28, 2018
Big takeaway from Vikings: RB Dalvin Cook looked awesome. And even though they weren't in pads, the entire staff sees it. Also, he wasn't wearing a brace.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) July 29, 2018
Pretty impressive day for Cook, considering he's still less than 10 months removed from ACL surgery. Watching him run, it's hard to tell he'd ever been injured. https://t.co/v9GqkPU4B3
— Ben Goessling (@GoesslingStrib) July 28, 2018
The #Vikings veterans arrived to training camp. Dalvin Cook looks like he is feeling quite comfortable in his return and Zimmer is coaching up Hughes/Hill. More in the notebook: https://t.co/uCuCXk6xKv
— Daniel House (@DanielHouseNFL) July 28, 2018
Thought Dalvin looked good. And nothing on the knee. Players today should wake up every day and bless their doctors, trainers, nutritionists and modern medicine. # @EricSugarATC https://t.co/Bm8fpkmXEU
— Mark Craig (@markcraignfl) July 28, 2018
I know that it’s very early in camp and that guys haven’t gotten an opportunity to put the pads on yet, but this is still pretty great news. The fact that Cook is about ten months removed from tearing a major knee ligament and is out on the field running around like nothing had happened is pretty incredible.
The presence of Dalvin Cook in the Minnesota backfield could be the difference between the Vikings having a good offense. . .which they already have. . .and having one of the best offenses in football. He’s such a difference maker for this team, and it’s going to be interesting to see how John DeFilippo uses him in the Minnesota offense this year.
Those of us that aren’t in Eagan might not get to see quite as much of Dalvin Cook, as I’d expect the team to greatly limit his preseason carries to make sure he’s ready to go on 9 September. But the people that are getting a good look at him seem to be pretty impressed by what they’ve seen so far.