Breaking down early Week 17 line movement on Saturday

The NFL wrapped up its practice week on Friday, and along with final injury reports, we got a better handle on some of the players that might rest in the season finale. Playoff teams locked into a specific seeding are more inclined to rest players in a meaningless game, which swings point spreads considerably.

The biggest line movement at DraftKings Sportsbook this week belongs to Bears-Vikings. Minnesota opened as a touchdown favorite but that line had started creeping down fairly quickly. The Vikings are locked in as the No. 6 seed, so it would make sense to rest some starters. DK Sportsbook dropped it to -1 as of Friday morning before a report dropped that the team was “leaning heavily towards resting a bulk of their starters” on Sunday. The line is now Bears -3.

The Titans-Texans line remains volatile. The Texans can still claim the No. 3 seed instead of the No. 4 seed, but would need the Chiefs to lose at home to the Chargers. With DeShaun Watson, DeAndre Hopkins, Kenny Stills, Laremy Tunsil, Bradley Roby, and a host of other players listed as questionable, there is some thought they’ll rest some players since they can’t earn a bye. Tennessee opened as a 1.5-point road favorite, the line climbed to five, dropped to 3.5, and is now at 5.5. Houston will know by kickoff if they’ve got a shot at the three seed, so if that is not an option, they could still decide to rest players. It makes for a difficult betting line.

Here’s a full rundown of point spread as of Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. We’ll keep track of the extensive movement that is likely to happen.