For the second straight year, the Minnesota Vikings quarterback has reported to training camp earlier than the majority of his veteran teammates.
Last year, Kirk Cousins was entering his first training camp with the Minnesota Vikings and to get in as many reps as possible before the regular season, he decided to report to camp early with the rookies. This year, Cousins is, once again, one of the few veterans who checked into Vikings training camp on Monday with the rookies.
The Minnesota quarterback isn’t required to report to camp until Thursday, but he is obviously taking advantage of the opportunity to get to the team’s facilities as early as he can.
Cousins is one of a few Vikings veterans who decided to check into camp on Monday with all of the team’s rookies. Jeff Badet, Mike Boone, Reshard Cliett, Tyler Conklin, Sean Mannion, Storm Norton, and Kyle Sloter are among some of the non-rookies who have also reported to Minnesota’s training camp early this year.
With the Vikings switching to a new offensive scheme for 2019, Cousins extra time on the field before the rest of the team arrives could make a big difference in how he performs early in the regular season.
Last year, the extra preparation seemed to at least help the Minnesota quarterback during his first few games with the team. Through the first five weeks of last season, Cousins had completed 71.2 percent of his passes for 1,688 yards, 11 touchdowns, and two interceptions.
His early arrival to camp also allows him to get in more reps with some of the Vikings’ younger players. Something that might not happen as often once the rest of Minnesota’s roster arrives on Thursday.
Cousins clearly has the urge to help the Vikings perform better in 2019 than they did last season. There’s not a whole lot more that Minnesota can ask for from their quarterback who is trying to do everything he can to get the franchise back on track.