Dalvin Cook said he's practicing and feels great but he doesn't know if he'll play Sunday against Detroit. He said practice, though, isn't the same as game testing a hamstring injury.

Considering Cook has been battling this issue for so long, it wouldn't make much sense for Minnesota to run him out there the week before a bye. Latavius Murray has done a solid job filling in, scoring at least 20 PPR points each of the last three weeks. He's an RB1 for Week 9 if Cook sits. If Cook does play, Murray is bench fodder and Cook himself is a risky RB2 as reinjury is a major concern.

Multiple league sources have indicated a belief that Dalvin Cook (hamstring) will miss the Vikings' next two games against the Saints and Lions and remain sidelined through Minnesota's bye week.

Looking at the short-term impact of this news, Latavius Murray will be an RB2 against the Saints this week. Their defense ranks second in the league against the run in our Adjusted Fantasy Points Allowed (aFPA) metric, making for a tough matchup indeed. The Lions, who Minnesota plays Week 9, fall on the far opposite end of the spectrum, as they rank 29th against the run in aFPA. Murray should slot in as a top-15 play next week.

Vikings running back Dalvin Cook appeared ready to return to action when he practiced in full on Wednesday, but things quickly turned south, with Cook missing Thursday and Friday practices and being ruled out on Friday. That leaves Latavius Murray to again shoulder the load, this time against the Jets one week after going for 155 yards on 24 carries and scoring a touchdown.

Murray really got going last week and now finds himself with a winnable matchup against the Jets defense. He is slotted in as our number 15 running back, which may be conservative if the Vikings get up big early and work the clock in the second half.