Report: Vikings likely to rest most starters Week 17

The Minnesota Vikings are leaning heavily toward resting several starting players during their Week 17 contest against the Chicago Bears, a source told ESPN's Courtney Cronin.

Minnesota is locked into the NFC's No. 6 playoff seed regardless of Sunday's result, so the team is reportedly treating the game as a bye to get players healthy and rested for the wild-card round.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins is among the starters likely to sit, wrapping up an efficient regular season in which he completed 69% of his passes for 3,603 yards, 26 touchdowns, and six interceptions across 15 starts.

The Vikings on Friday ruled out running back Dalvin Cook and linebacker Eric Kendricks for the regular-season finale. Cook missed Week 16 with a shoulder injury.

Minnesota will play one of the Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, or Seattle Seahawks in the first round. If the Packers beat the Detroit Lions on Sunday and the Seahawks lose to the San Francisco 49ers, the Vikings will travel to New Orleans.

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