EAGAN, Minn. - The Minnesota Vikings placed quarterback Kirk Cousins on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday, the team announced. The cousins, who have not been vaccinated, will not be eligible to play for the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.
The cousins were subjected to a daily testing regimen because of their vaccination status. He experienced symptoms on Friday and then tested positive for the virus, sources told ESPN's Adam Schaffter. The Vikings activated backup quarterback Sean Manion on Friday; He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list hours before losing to the Los Angeles Rams of Minnesota in Week 16. According to coach Mike Zimmer, Manion, who has been vaccinated, was "sick".
Zimmer said, "We don't like to see this happen to Kirk, but he's done a lot for us, and Sean is a really good football player and we're looking forward to him going out and playing really well." Huh."
Manion will open against the Packers. Minnesota signed Kyle Slaughter - who spent the 2021 season on Las Vegas' practice squad - earlier this week while Manion remained on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Rookie Kellen Mondt, who was active against the Rams as cousins backup for the first time all season, rounds out the QB depth chart.
Despite Mannion not practicing in the week leading up to Minnesota's second meeting with the NFC North foe, Zimmer said the veteran QB didn't have much thought on starting Mond. The rookie was drafted in the third round in 2021 and did not appear in a game this season.
"No, it really wasn't," Zimmer said. "We knew Sean was coming back, and Sean is so bright, he reads like crazy, he's a great competitor. He's put in his time, he's earned this opportunity and I think he's great." Will do
"Shawn knows the game plan cool. Like I said, he's an extremely brilliant guy. He acts every week like he's going to be a starter. And that's this week."
Packers coach Matt LaFleur, who helped coach Manion while he was with the Rams, was quick to praise passersby.
"First of all, what a great man, great teammate," Lafleur said on Friday. "He has a great time. He's going to do exactly what the coach tells him. He's very reliable in this regard. I have a lot of respect for him not only as a person but as a player." "
Manion, a career No. 2 quarterback, has started only two games in his seven-year NFL career: a one-week loss to the San Francisco 49ers in 2017, while a member of the Rams and a one-week loss to the Chicago Bears with Minnesota. Harm. in 2019. In both instances, the Rams and Vikings had already called off post-season bids and rested most of their starters.
If Manion throws a touchdown pass against the Packers, it will be the first match of his career.
The Vikings will face a win-win situation at Green Bay to keep their playoff hopes alive. According to ESPN's Football Power Index, Minnesota's chances of making the playoffs increase to 46% with a win over the Packers and drop to 2% with a loss.
Zimmer said this week that the Vikings were taking more security measures to keep Cousins and Mond apart to prevent COVID-19 from further affecting the quarterback room.
"We don't want those people in the same room together, so we're going to try to separate them," Zimmer said.
After a 30-23 loss to the Rams in Week 16, Cousins was asked how the quarterback room in the Vikings' building already with COVID-19 would need to be accommodated.
"It is what it is," Cousins said on Sunday. "At this point, you just have to follow protocol, be disciplined and not many people are testing. So, it's in our building. It's going to happen in our building. It's going to spread. We just have to. We've got to be disciplined to keep our distance and make sure we don't get to our full potential, but it's going to be difficult."
The Vikings had the first NFL quarterback room to be affected by COVID-19 this season, when Mondt tested positive for the virus during the first week of training camp. Cousins and former backup Nate Stanley were both considered close contacts at high risk and were forced to quarantine for five days before returning to practice.
During their night practice on July 31, the Vikings had only one quarterback available – Jake Browning, who is now on the practice team in Cincinnati.
Returning to practice in August after his five-day isolation, Cousins said he was "at peace" with his vaccination decision and called it "a very private health matter."
At one point during the preseason, the Vikings had the highest percentage of non-vaccinated players in the NFL. Zimmer channeled his frustrations into Minnesota's locker rooms with all the illiterate players -- not just the quarterback group -- and warned about the situation the Vikings now face.
Zimmer said on July 31, "Something like this happens the day before a game where you get a chance to take you to the playoffs or something like that... it's the delta version of the rough."
Two days later, Zimmer doubled down on his stance when asked how he would react if the Vikings lost a game because their starting quarterback or a star player was unavailable due to COVID-19 protocols.
The Vikings coach said on August 2, "Maybe we wouldn't be happy to lose this game, at first, and maybe I wouldn't be glad we could have stopped it." "Like I said, these guys, some of them just won't do it. I shouldn't say that, but what they've read is just, wow, out there."
Cousins isn't the only Vikings star player to have finished on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Safety Harrison Smith lost two games after testing positive the morning before losing to the Baltimore Ravens, and running back Dalwyn Cook lost to the Rams last week after testing positive. Nose tackle opening Dalvin Tomlinson was also out 10 days after being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.