Quarterback Kirk Cousins is back with the Vikings after missing their Week 17 loss to the Packers while on the COVID-19 reserve list.
Cousins was placed on the list last Friday and Sunday’s game was only the second that he’s missed since joining the team in 2018. That number will not grow to three this weekend.
Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer confirmed that Cousins will start against the Bears despite the Vikings being eliminated from playoff contention. That doesn’t come as a great surprise after Zimmer said that he has no interest in seeing how third-round pick Kellen Mond can fare while running the offense.
Cousins has a fully guaranteed salary of $35 million for the 2022 season. There’s been some discussion that the Vikings will still try to move on from him this offseason, but doing so would take eating a great deal of money and/or sending away draft picks to entice another team into adding Cousins to their roster.