EAGAN, Minneapolis – Minnesota Vikings star Dalvin Cook 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, which according to the source will not make him available for Sunday’s final.
Cook’s father, James, was 46 years old.
Cook is the leader of the NFL in the total yards from scrimmage (1,918) and scrimmage yards per game (137) and has scored 17 touchdowns this season. He is second in the league in rushing 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 1,500 yards in a single season.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer declined to say at his weekly news conference on Wednesday whether he had made a decision to start in Week 17 after the Vikings were eliminated from the dispute after the season in a loss of Christmas Day against the New Orleans Saints.