Vikings QB Kirk Cousins "feeling good, ready to go" after COVID-19 absence
EAGAN, Minn. -- Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins will be back at practice Wednesday after missing several days with a COVID-19 infection.
Cousins was sent home from practice Thursday after not feeling well.
"Just was feeling a little lousy and tested and I ended up going home, and then just needed the five days to recover and followed things from a distance," Cousins said at a Wednesday morning press conference.
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Now he's "feeling good, ready to go," he said.
The veteran quarterback didn't miss much -- Friday was a "light practice" he said, Saturday was a travel day and Monday was an off day. Sunday was the team's first preseason game, but Cousins said he would've played a handful of snaps at most.
"I was commenting to my wife that if I had to miss five days and you were to be strategic about which five, we probably picked a pretty good five," he said.
Cousins' absence gave backups Kellen Mond and Sean Mannion plenty of opportunity to make their case for the No. 2 job in Sunday's game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Mond went 9/14 for 199 yards and two touchdowns, while Mannion was 8/12 for 79 yards. The Vikings lost 26-20.
"Kellen's come a long way from when we first got here in the spring," offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. "He's very diligent in his preparation. He studies it, he knows it, and it's just a matter of taking that knowledge that he's got and just continuing to show it out here on the field."
"Thought the quarterbacks, Sean and Kellen, played well and did nicely," Cousins said. "I think our offense just had a good feel, a good command and hopefully we can build on that this week."
The San Francisco 49ers are in Eagan this week for joint practices with the Vikings, ahead of their preseason matchup this weekend. It's unclear how much Cousins will play in that game.
"Football-wise it helps a lot to go against a different defense," Cousins said. "Really valuable time, we want to make the most of these two days."
Earlier this week, Cousins was ranked No. 99 on the NFL's list of top 100 players.