The Minnesota Vikings are likely going to go with Kirk Cousins as their starting QB in their Week 10 game against the Green Bay Packers. Nonetheless, there’s concern about him jumping midweek between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Vikings to get ready for Green Bay.
Despite Cousins’ transition back to the Vikings offense, there are concerns about whether he can pick up the offense of head coach Kevin O’Connell right where he left off in his first stint in Minnesota.
Ahead of the Packers game on Nov. 15, former Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen expressed confidence in Cousins’ ability to get up to speed with the offense and be ready to play despite having only a few practices to prepare for the road matchup in Green Bay.
“He’s been playing really good football, so now he’s ready to plug and play,” Thielen said in a Nov. 11 appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “The other side of it is the mental side. The different language, the playbook, just getting in the huddle, calling those plays, and hearing long play calls. But they have this really cool thing.
“It’s called a wristband that you can read, so you don’t have to hear it and then relay it, which he’s unbelievable at. He used to sit in his car and record the play calls as voice messages on his phone. Then he’d play them back to himself in the car and relay them.
“So he would get practice reps in his car before going into the building, just being able to hear the call and then call the play. I guarantee he’ll do that every single night moving forward and he’ll be ready to go.”
Kirk Cousins’ Abilities That He’ll Bring to the Vikings
Moreover, Thielen noted what other abilities Cousins has to help curve jumping on this moving train midweek for a crucial game that the Vikings need to win to avoid losing a third-straight game.
“Kirk has the ability, with his smarts, his knowledge of the game, and his experience, to do that,” Thielen added. “He can handle that. I know that is a huge factor in bringing him in there, and now a huge factor in the excitement of what it could look like and what this offense can look like. What that does is allow everybody else, other than the quarterback, to not think and to play fast.”
Could Kirk Cousins Remain in Minnesota Past This Season?
Meanwhile, Cousins is on a one-year contract and is 38, but former Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim doesn’t see why both parties wouldn’t want to run it back next season if all goes well.
“I would call it an audition,” Keim said on the Nov. 11 edition of “Inside Football.” “… But I would say Kirk Cousins is at an age where he’s got to decide how long he wants to play and with that defense, and considering they can continue to keep things rolling there, I don’t know why he wouldn’t want to continue to stay in Minnesota. I also saw an interview where he said he wanted to stay there all along.”
Vikings Receive Encouraging Kirk Cousins Take Before Packers Game