EAGAN, Minnesota – Minnesota Vikings star Dalvin Cook will miss Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions because of his father’s death, according to a league source.
Cook returned to his home in Miami on Tuesday to be with his brothers and will miss the Vikings’ daily COVID-19 tests, which makes him unavailable for the end of Sunday’s season, according to the source.
Cook’s father James was 46 years old.
Cook leads the NFL in total scrimmage yards (1,918) and scrimmage yards per game (137) and has scored 17 touchdowns this season. He is second in the league in running yards, with 1,557, behind Tennessee Titans star Derrick Henry (1,777).
Cook joined Adrian Peterson and Robert Smith as the only players in the history of the Vikings to run 1,500 yards in a single season.
During his weekly press conference on Wednesday, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer declined to say whether he decided to give holders a break on week 17 after the Vikings were eliminated from the postseason dispute in a Christmas loss to the New Orleans Saints.