Josh McCown has spent most of the last two decades as an NFL quarterback, so he knows something about what the job entails. And McCown thinks that this year, doing the job right includes getting vaccinated.
McCown said that Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, who has refused to get vaccinated and had to miss five days of training camp because of a potential COVID-19 exposure, isn’t doing everything he can for his team.
“Obviously, we have a personal choice, and that’s a freedom that he has,’’ McCown told Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. “But I think in the realm of a team and understanding everything we do about the science and the safety of it, I would just say it would be hard week in and week out for a quarterback to say, ‘Hey, I’m all for my team, but I’m not going to do this.’”
McCown said the unvaccinated Cousins won’t be the best leader a franchise quarterback can be.
“Obviously, he has a firm belief in his systems of beliefs that are leading him to say, ‘I don’t want to vaccinate,’ and that’s his business,’’ McCown said. “But given the effect and the impact that it can have on a team, we don’t share the same beliefs on that aspect. And I just think you want to lead the way and do everything that allows you to be effective for your team, and so if you don’t [get vaccinated], I guess you have to throw the mask on and be vigilant about that. But even then I think that takes away from some of your ability to lead.’’
Cousins may not want to hear it, but McCown is right. If you’re not vaccinated, you haven’t done everything you can to help your team win.