Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins returned to practice on Thursday and talked about how he plans to avoid missing time in the future.
Last week, we found out that Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has not received the COVID-19 vaccine after current NFL rules forced him to quarantine for a handful of days despite not testing positive for the virus.
His classification as an unvaccinated high-risk close contact is what ultimately landed him on the Vikings‘ Reserve/COVID-19 list and caused him to miss four of the team’s practices.
On Thursday, Cousins returned to Minnesota’s practice facilities and spoke to the local Twin Cities media about what led to him missing time and how he plans to make sure it never happens again.
Kirk Cousins has considered surrounding himself with plexiglass to remain on the field for the Minnesota Vikings in 2021
Cousins opened up his chat with the local media on Thursday afternoon by letting everyone know that he’s had six negative COVID tests since he was last in contact with Vikings quarterback Kellen Mond (who tested positive last week).
He went on to say the size of the quarterbacks meeting room being too small is what led to him being classified as a close contact last week. Cousins then added that the quarterbacks are meeting in a larger room now, so the problem should be fixed.
Here’s what Cousins said he told Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer in a phone conversation on Wednesday.
"“We can meet [inside], we can meet outside. If it means meeting outside under a goal post in January, if that’s what it takes to get the playoffs, and be in playoff games, and win playoff games, then that’s where we’re going to meet."
After sharing this, the Vikings passer then went back to talking about the size of the quarterbacks meeting room being too small being the reason why he missed four practices this week.
"“We’re going to avoid this close contact thing with everything we possibly can do. I was not aware of the meeting room size being an issue, otherwise, I would have spoken up and said ‘we obviously can’t meet here.'”"
Cousins then took some questions and when he was asked if he has given any consideration to getting the COVID-19 vaccine since his absence, the quarterback said “the vaccination decision is a very private health matter for me and I’m going to keep it as such.”
Shortly after saying this, Cousins stated something that will likely be the most memorable part of his press conference on Thursday.
"“I’m going to be vigilant about avoiding a close contact. I’ve even thought about, should I just set up, literally, plexiglass around where I sit so that this could never happen again? I’ve thought about it because I’m going to do whatever it takes.”"
Plexiglass? What? Who is he? David Blaine?
Cousins went on to agree that the best way to avoid getting a positive COVID-19 test would be to get vaccinated, but then he repeated that getting the vaccination is a “very private health decision,” for him.
The Vikings quarterback ended his press conference by saying he’s “at peace with where at and will follow the protocols vigilantly.”