Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has tested positive for COVID-19, coach Mike Zimmer said Friday, and will be out for Sunday’s game against the Packers. Backup Sean Mannion, who was activated off the reserve list on Friday, will get the start.
Cousins, 33, has started in all 15 games for the 7-8 Vikings this season, throwing for 3,971 yards and 30 touchdowns. Minnesota currently trails the 49ers and the Eagles by a single game for the final two NFC wild-card spots with two games left in their regular-season schedule.
“I think they’re going to rally behind Sean,” coach Mike Zimmer said Friday. “They know how important this game is. They believe in Sean. … We hate to see that happen to Kirk, but he’s done a lot of great things for us and Sean is a really good football player and we’re expecting him to go out and play really well.”
Zimmer was blunt in calling for vaccinations over the summer, saying he was “frustrated” and “that’s why people should get vaccinated” as the team was dealing with COVID-19 issues. When Cousins first visited the reserve list due to being deemed a close contact in August, the Vikings boasted the league’s lowest rate of vaccination.
At the time, Cousins said he would do “whatever it takes” to avoid another trip to the COVID-19 list even suggesting the idea of inserting plexiglass wherever he goes. When asked about the vaccine, the quarterback deflected.
“It’s just a very private health decision, and I’m going to keep it private as such,” Cousins said. Zimmer confirmed Friday the quarterback has been subject to daily testing, a requirement by the NFL for unvaccinated players.
The NFL and NFL Players Association agreed earlier this week to changes to their COVID-19 protocols, allowing any player who tests positive regardless of vaccination status to return after five days if he is not experiencing symptoms. Asymptomatic vaccinated players can return as soon as 24 hours after a positive test by testing out of protocols and are no longer deemed contagious.
The change is in line with new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control that halve the quarantine time for individuals testing positive for COVID-19 from 10 days to five. The NFL was the first pro sports league to formally align its protocols with the new CDC guidelines.
The biggest change for the NFL under the revised protocols is the elimination of different return-to-play protocols for vaccinated and unvaccinated players, and this change could have an immediate impact. Colts quarterback Carson Wentz, who is unvaccinated, was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Tuesday. Under the previous protocols, he would be out for 10 days. Now, if he is symptom-free, he could be activated in time for Sunday’s game against the Raiders.
This is a massive change for a league that built its 2021 COVID-19 mitigation plan around incentives for vaccinations. Those included daily testing and a mandatory quarantine of at least 10 days for unvaccinated players. Unvaccinated players were also subject to five-day quarantines if they were determined to be a high-risk close contact to someone who had tested positive. Now, under the new protocols, unvaccinated players are eligible to return to play sooner, just like their vaccinated peers.
(Photo: Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)
