EAGAN, Minn. – Dalvin Cook, the Minnesota Vikings star, will miss Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions due to the death of his father, according to a league source.
Cook returned to his home in Miami on Tuesday to be with his siblings and will miss the Vikings’ daily COVID-19 tests, making him unavailable for Sunday’s season finale, according to the source.
Cook’s father, James, was 46 years old.
Cook leads the NFL in total yards from scrimmage (1,918) and scrimmage yards per game (137), scoring 17 touchdowns this season. He is second in the league in rushing yards with 1,557 behind Tennessee Titans star Derrick Henry (1,777).
Cook joined Adrian Peterson and Robert Smith as the only players in Vikings history to rush to 1,500 meters in one season.
During his weekly press conference on Wednesday, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer declined to say whether he had made a decision to rest the starters in Week 17 after the Vikings were eliminated from the postseason battle in a Christmas Day loss to the New Orleans Saints .