Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was back with the team at training camp on Thursday after missing four practices while on the COVID-19 reserve list.
Cousins went on that list as a contact of teammate Kellen Mond, who tested positive for COVID-19, and league protocols for unvaccinated players call for five days of isolation in such cases. He told reporters upon his return to that he has tested negative each day and said “the protocols worked” because he wore a mask while in a meeting room with Mond.
According to Cousins, he and Nate Stanley were put on the list because the team’s meeting room for quarterbacks did not provide enough space between the players. He said the team would be changing the locations of their meetings and that they’d meet outside all year if needed. He also mentioned putting up plexiglass around his locker to avoid another case of close contact.
“The key will be not being a close contact,” Cousins said.
Being vaccinated would eliminate the need to miss time for being a close contact of a player who tests positive. It doesn’t appear that Cousins’ mind will be swayed by that, however. He called his vaccination decision a private one on multiple occasions Thursday and said that he is “at peace” with it while stressing he will be “vigilant” about following league protocols as the Vikings move forward with the 2021 season.