QB Kirk Cousins, ATL (2 Viewers)

Faust said:

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins clarifies 'if I die, I die' comment on coronavirus

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Kirk Cousins completed 16-of-27 passes for 251 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions in the Vikings' 31-30, Week 3 loss to the Titans.

This was easily the best game Cousins has played through three weeks, but two turnovers still proved costly as the Vikings sit at 0-3 ahead of a Week 4 date with the Texans. Cousins' three touchdowns were an on-the-move bullet to Adam Thielen, a 71-yard deep shot to Justin Jefferson, and a one-handed toe-tapper by Kyle Rudolph from three yards out. Cousins has attempted 25, 26, and 27 passes through three games and has five touchdowns to six interceptions while absorbing seven sacks. He's not someone we should be actively looking to use in fantasy in a Week 4 date with Houston.

Sep 27, 2020, 5:04 PM ET

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KIRK COUSINS QB, MINNESOTA VIKINGS

The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski said the Vikings' only chance to win games this season would be an aggressive pass-first offense.

Head coach Mike Zimmer can no longer "rely on ball control, tough defense and discipline to win games." The Vikings, with a beat up and inexperienced defense, have to "let it fly" rather than "ground and pound," as they have in recent seasons, Krawczynski said. The emergence of rookie WR Justin Jefferson -- who caught seven balls for 175 yards and a touchdown in Week 3 -- could make the transition easier for Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota offense. In the lead up to the team's Week 3 game against the Titans, Zimmer was still, somehow, emphasizing the importance of establishing the run to get the offense on track. Count us skeptical that old-school Zimmer is going to endorse a more open, pass-heavy offense. 

RELATED: 

Justin Jefferson

SOURCE: The Athletic 

Sep 28, 2020, 10:03 AM ET

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Kirk Cousins completed 16-of-22 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown in the Vikings' 31-23, Week 4 win over the Texans.

Cousins' 22 attempts were a season low, but it was his best game. Cousins routinely found Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson for 20-plus yard gains as the Vikings used more pre-snap motion and play-action to breathe life into their offense. It, of course, helped that Dalvin Cook ran all over the Texans' defense. With 25 percent of the season in the books, Cousins has as many passing scores as interceptions (six). We've almost certainly seen his worst stretch of play, but even with Justin Jefferson emerging, there are not going to be many weeks where he's a clear-cut top-18 option. Week 5 happens to be one of those weeks, as the Vikings must head to Seattle to take on the high-flying Seahawks on Sunday Night Football. It will be Cousins' best setup of the entire year. 

Oct 4, 2020, 4:44 PM ET

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Kirk Cousins completed 27-of-39 passes for 249 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the Vikings' Week 5 loss to the Seahawks.

Cousins was sacked three times and fumbled on the final play of the night. This was still one of his better games after getting held to four touchdowns over the last three weeks. The 39 pass attempts were a season high for Cousins, who was forced to play without Dalvin Cook in the second half. Cousins had the Vikings in position to win late in the fourth quarter, but they came up one yard short of closing it out. Cousins will be a back-end streaming option for a potentially high-scoring Week 6 matchup with the Falcons.

Oct 11, 2020, 11:38 PM ET

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Kirk Cousins completed 24-of-36 passes for 343 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions in the Vikings' Week 6 loss to the Falcons.

There's no reason Cousins should be intercepted by an injured Falcons defense three times at home, but he's not seeing the field right now. Luckily for his fantasy stat line, Cousins had Justin Jefferson to throw to in the second half. The rookie receiver looks like one of the better players at the position already. The Vikings typically want to run the ball, but they have the pass-catching talent to be more pass-oriented if they choose to make a change during their Week 7 bye. Cousins will come back as a low-end QB2 as big underdogs to the Packers in Week 8.

Oct 18, 2020, 4:36 PM ET

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Kirk Cousins completed 11-of-14 passes for 160 yards and one score in Minnesota's 28-22 Week 8 win over Packers.

Coach Mike Zimmer's dream of establishing the run came to fruition as the Packers were simply unable to corral Dalvin Cook (30/163/3), getting bulldozed for 173 yards and 5.08 yards per carry on the ground. Cousins took a backseat, attempting a season-low in passes; his longest completion was actually a screen pass that Cook turned upfield for a 50-yard touchdown in the first half. As always with Cousins, his production comes down to whether or not he's forced to pass (and he wasn't on Sunday). He'll again be ranked as a high floor QB2 in Week 9 against the Lions.

- Rotoworld

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Kirk Cousins completed 13-of-20 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns in the Vikings' 34-20, Week 9 win over the Lions.

Cousins has attempted 30 passes in a game just twice this season and has totaled 34 throws over the last two weeks with Dalvin Cook smashing defenses on the ground with 478 total yards and six touchdowns Weeks 8-9. Cousins' per-attempt numbers look great, however, and his three scores in this one went to Irv Smith (twice) and Ameer Abdullah, disappointing Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson fantasy leaguers. Cousins will not be a recommended fantasy play next week at the Bears.

- Rotoworld

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Kirk Cousins completed 25-of-36 passes for 292 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in the Vikings' Week 10 win over the Bears.

Cousins found the end zone twice but the big story will be his team's unwillingness to let him loose. He topped eight yards per attempt in a game where Dalvin Cook was continually stuffed at the line of scrimmage and still manage just 36 passes. Cook rushed 30 times at 3.2 yards per carry. Despite never hitting 40 pass attempts in a game this season, Cousins still has six games with multiple touchdowns. He's a low-end QB2 who relies solely on efficiency to post solid fantasy outings. 

Nov 16, 2020, 11:52 PM ET

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Kirk Cousins completed 34-of-45 passes for 307 yards and three touchdowns in the Vikings' Week 12 win over the Panthers.

Forced into negative game script after two Carolina defensive touchdowns, Cousins attempted a season-high 45 pass attempts, six more than his previous season high. He was mostly affective despite missing Adam Thielen and Irv Smith. Cousins peppered targets to elite rookie Justin Jefferson who scored twice before hitting Chad Beebe for the game-winning touchdown with under two minutes remaining. Cousins has a QB1 ceiling only when the Vikings are trailing, but he pops up for a couple of games like this per season. Cousins will be a mid-range QB2 against the Jaguars in Week 13.

- Rotoworld

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Kirk Cousins completed 24-of-35 passes for 271 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in the Vikings' Week 15 loss to the Bears.

This one ended up being a shootout, 33-27. Cousins passed more times than expected after the Bears went into halftime with a 20-10 lead, but it ended up being a forgettable QB2 finish, something he's done more times than not this season. Cousins needs negative game script to find a fantasy ceiling. He'll likely get it next week in New Orleans. Cousins needs two more passing touchdowns to set a new career high.

Dec 20, 2020, 4:29 PM ET

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Kirk Cousins completed 27-of-41 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns in the Vikings' Week 16 loss to the Saints.

Cousins was forced into a lot of pass attempts with the Saints running all over the Vikings' banged-up defense. Minnesota never felt in the game, but Cousins was solid throughout nonetheless. He was leaning on Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen heavily heading into this game, but it was second-year TE Irv Smith who popped up for two touchdowns. The Vikings offense was a good unit in 2020. It doesn't necessarily mean Cousins is the long-term answer at quarterback, however. Cousins should be effective against the Lions to close out the season despite being knocked out of the playoffs.

Dec 25, 2020, 7:50 PM ET

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Kirk Cousins completed 28-of-40 passes for 405 yards and three touchdowns in the Vikings' Week 17 win over the Lions.

There was more good than bad with Cousins in 2020. He set career highs in passing touchdowns (35) and touchdown rate (6.2%) despite playing behind a suspect offensive line. The Vikings were a run-first team at heart but lacked the defense to sustain leads, forcing Cousins into 32.25 attempts per game and eventually into a career-high 13 interceptions. If not for Justin Jefferson’s miraculous rookie season, things could have gone off the rails, but the rookie acted as a one-for-one Stefon Diggs replacement. With Cousins, Jefferson, Adam Thielen, Irv Smith, and Dalvin Cook all under contract for next season, the Minnesota offense will essentially be running it back in 2021. Albeit with a limited ceiling in the era of dual-threat quarterbacks, Cousins will have QB2 appeal then as long as the Vikings don’t bring in serious quarterback competition during the offseason. Their cap space will make that nearly impossible via free agency, so all eyes are on the NFL Draft. Minnesota can save $35M against the cap by cutting Cousins after the 2021 season.

- Rotoworld

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KIRK COUSINS QB, MINNESOTA VIKINGS

Vikings GM Rick Spielman said "there’s no position that is off limits" when asked about drafting a quarterback.

The question specified the drafted quarterback being a Day 2 or Day 3 selection but Spielman would have given an identical answer to a variety of similar questions. GMs are rarely in the business of giving away actionable information about their draft plans. Kirk Cousins' contract is fully guaranteed through 2022, keeping Minnesota on the hook for all $76 million of the deal until Cousins hits free agency or they extend him. The team has needs to address across the board on defense and could use help on the offensive line as well. Unless they are eyeing a developmental backup for Cousins in the final rounds of the draft, the Vikings are in no position to try and replace their current quarterback.

SOURCE: Courtney Cronin on Twitter

Apr 27, 2021, 4:21 PM ET

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Faust said:

RGIII: Kirk Cousins 'cashing checks' with Vikings, 'not real happy' with Kellen Mond pick

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Kirk Cousins and Kellen Mond were among the Vikings placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday. 

Cousins, who last year famously said "if I die, I die" when asked about taking precautions to stop the spread of COVID-19, could miss at least a week of Vikings training camp if he's unvaccinated. Mond, the 66th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, will also miss time with COVID. That leaves Jake Browning as the only active quarterback on Minnesota's roster. 

RELATED: 

Kellen Mond

, Jake Browning

SOURCE: Andrew Krammer on Twitter 

Aug 2, 2021, 11:51 AM ET

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Yenrub said:

Is he really going to be surrounded by plexiglass in the QB meeting room?

https://sports.yahoo.com/kirk-cousins-would-rather-surround-himself-with-plexiglas-than-get-the-covid-19-vaccine-211958822.html

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DallasDMac said:

"The Washington Post reported that the Vikings have the league's lowest vaccination rate at 64.5% of players fully vaccinated. Cousins said he was not aware of his team's current percentages and did not directly comment on whether he believes the Vikings are at a competitive disadvantage."

Sure sounds like a leader...

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tangfoot said:

He's going to be escorted around the practice field in the Youlikethat mobile.

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ignatiusjreilly said:

Did he actually have Covid this past week, or was it just a potential exposure?

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ignatiusjreilly said:

Did he actually have Covid this past week, or was it just a potential exposure?

If he had it, that probably lessens the chance of him getting it again during the season. (That said, he should still get vaccinated). And I agree that, if it's true that the Vikings are the least vaccinated team in the league, that presents a risk for all their skill position players in fantasy

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mcintyre1 said:

And by refusing to get the vaccine, he has to sit for 5 days every time he's exposed. If he were vaccinated, he doesn't have to sit at all, I believe.

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massraider said:

I think it's very reasonable to consider the Vikings vaccine scenario when managing their players on your roster. 

I own Cook in dynasty, and am thinking about offering him for Gibson. 

The way the NFL worded that memo, it's very possible a team forfeits a game, or more, this season. If you have to pick a team to screw their fantasy owners via Covid, the Vikings are clearly the team.

It's not likely, or probable. I don't think. But if I can get a younger back I love for Cook, I am in. A scenario where Cousins, Cook, Jefferson give a zero during playoffs because the team is sitting out is brutal. 

Or what becomes of the rest of the offense if Cousins is out because of a positive test?

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But perhaps the most impressive part of Minnesota's turnaround has been the play of Cousins, whose eight passing touchdowns to zero interceptions and 73.9% completion percentage make up the best three-game start of his career.

"It's been a different Kirk," wide receiver Adam Thielen said. "He's just locked in and on time, he's trusting it. I think a big part of that is our O-line and the way they're blocking and giving him enough time to sit back there and make his reads."

Cousins went 30-of-38 for 323 yards and three touchdowns with a passer rating of 128.4 against Seattle. For a second straight week, the quarterback threw three TD passes in the first half, and he now has 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions in the first halves of his past 10 games.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, Cousins' 200 passing attempts without an interception are one shy of the Vikings' franchise record of 201, which he set in 2019. He's the ninth quarterback in NFL history with 14 or more passing touchdowns and zero interceptions over a five-game regular-season stretch and the first to achieve that feat since the year Lamar Jackson won MVP honors in 2019.

Despite losses at Cincinnati and Arizona, Cousins had the Vikings in position for walk-off wins in back-to-back weeks. A fumble by Cook in overtime allowed the Bengals to come back and kick a game-winning field goal, and kicker Greg Joseph was wide right on a 37-yard attempt in Week 2.

Against the Seahawks, Cousins came through and kept the offense on the field for nearly 36 minutes while the team converted 9 of 14 third-down attempts. Cousins' 918 passing yards are the third most through the first three games of the season by any quarterback in franchise history.

"I think he's playing outstanding," Zimmer said. "But not only that, he's playing with a lot of confidence. I really appreciate the leadership that he's been doing lately. It's been so much better, something he wanted to work on. He's done a great job with that. He's very confident where he's throwing the football. He's very confident with these receivers. I think the offensive line has helped him do some of those things as well."

That confidence in his receivers showed up in the form of Justin Jeffersoncatching nine passes for 118 yards and a touchdown and Cousins launching a 15-yard pass to K.J. Osborn while fighting off a Seattle blitz -- a highlight-reel throw that was the talk of postgame media availability.

"It was an outstanding play, because he was going to get rocked, and he knew it," Zimmer said.

Talk of the differences in Cousins' leadership in his fourth season in Minnesota has been routine throughout the Vikings' up-and-down start to the season.

What might those changes in the quarterback boil down to?

"He has a little more swag to him this year actually," Mattison said. "Being around Jet (Jefferson) in the locker room, the lockers are switched around a little bit. He has a little more swag to him. He's one of those playmakers, he always has been that way. He's just stepped up even more honing in on his craft and making everyone better around him. Huge credit to Kirk for the way he played today and the way he led us.

"Some of the stuff he says, it's pretty funny just coming from him. He's definitely opened up a little bit and it's awesome to see. Even how he runs and scrambles, it's a little different than it was before. He's just taking the reins and he's an amazing leader."

And while his teammates have praised him for his leadership and demeanor, Cousins defines his "swag" differently than those around him.

"(Former Washington offensive coordinator) Kyle Shanahan used to say that my swag was having no swag," Cousins said jokingly. "He told me as a rookie to never change. When I came out for my first preseason game he said my jersey looked so big it looked like I was wearing a Halloween costume. Someone said something about, 'You should get a different face mask and a better jersey and this or that, wear your socks different,' and Kyle cut him off and said, 'No, his swag is having no swag.' I like it that way. I kind of laugh because there's a hint of truth in the joke."

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Kirk Cousins completed 33-of-48 passes for 373 yards and three touchdowns in Minnesota's 34-28 Week 6 overtime win against the Panthers.

Cousins had his flaws early, missing Justin Jefferson (8/80) wide open downfield for a would-be long score before tripping over his own feet at the 10-yard line on the ensuing play. He still stepped up when it mattered most down the stretch, putting the Vikings up 25-17 with a perfectly placed five-yard dime to Adam Thielen (11/126/1) in the third quarter and engineering a nine-play, 75-yard drive in overtime that was capped with a 27-yard walk-off touchdown to K.J. Osborn. On bye next week, Cousins should be considered a high-end QB2 when the Vikings return in Week 8 against Dallas.

- NBC SportsEDGE

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Nick Olson @NickOlsonNFL

Kirk Cousins' average depth of target is 6.6 yards, 2nd-lowest in the NFL this year, which has neutered the passing offense.

But that coaching failure is born of the front office's failure to blow most its draft capital on the offensive line, only to need to scheme around it.

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