Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison both taken off injury report for Week 6

Friday update: Both Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison will play in Week 6 after being taken off the injury report, per Courtney Cronin. This is the first time Cook has been off the injury report entirely since Week 2. He’s a must fantasy start while Mattison should be sat.

Thursday update: Both Mattison and Cook were practicing today, per Chad Graff. Cook would seem to be ahead of Mattison, as he was able to practice on Wednesday and Mattison wasn’t, but both seem to be trending toward playing at this point.

The Minnesota Vikings could have a problem brewing in the backfield as both Alexander Mattison and Dalvin Cook are dealing with injuries ahead of Week 6 against the Carolina Panthers. Mattison did not participate at all in Wednesday’s session with a shoulder injury while Cook was limited with an ankle problem, according to the team’s official injury report.

Fantasy football implications

The Vikings don’t exactly have much depth beyond Cook and Mattison at the running back position. Veteran Ameer Abdullah is next in line for touches after Cook and Mattison if both running backs ultimately miss the team’s Week 6 contest. It seems like Cook will be back after logging a limited session, so Abdullah’s best shot at work will be as a receiver out of the backfield. The Vikings have been throwing the ball well though, so a reduced workload for whichever hobbled running back does take the field Sunday could be on the cards.