Vikings bring back Kirk Cousins: 'You can feel his energy right away'

Good afternoon everybody. Want to, for sure, start out and just recognize all of our, you know, current and former service members. Obviously, Obviously, you know, such an impactful day for a lot of people, and it's a great thing to take a moment and just say a quick thank you to all of them for their service. I know you guys just got a chance to talk to Nolan about, you know, the trade for Kirk Cousins. You know, obviously spent a good part of the morning. Good part of the day with Kirk. It's great to have him back in the building. You feel his energy right away. Just want to, you know, the trade deadline, especially when you play on Monday night, you know, it can be, you know, all hands on deck. And Nolan, the way his staff, the way they work through it, both the preparation leading into it, the communication with not only myself, but our coaching staff. It was just, you know, it was just phenomenal and allowed us to, you know, really go through the process at a lot of different positions and really come to the conclusion that, you know, we could add a player like Kirk, which is obviously a really unique thing, you know, a player that's familiar with, obviously, you know, myself and members of our coaching staff, so many of our players in the locker room, staff, people in the building, you know, he had such an impact on so many folks. And here it's obviously going to be, you know, a little bit easier to get him acclimated and back up to speed. But it has been a little bit of time. He's been calling plays, you know, in some different offenses over the last couple of years. So we're working through. You know, just getting him comfortable, getting him up to speed, and he's really smart. It's, you know, a lot of things come back quick to him, and, you know, some of the things we've kind of grown and nuanced and subtle changes, making things more efficient or learnable over the years, you know, just getting him caught up to speed. But, you know, I do think it's still too early to commit, you know, wholeheartedly to, you know, what the plan on Sunday looks like. But I will say, you know, you know, excited about the opportunity of spending every moment we can between now and then to get him comfortable and allow him to play for us this Sunday. So that's what we're working towards. But also want to be fair, you know, to Kirk and make sure he feels good about it going into Lambeau Field. We won't be on the field until tomorrow, but did want to give you guys the projected injury report later this afternoon, I know you'll get, but the one that I wanted to make sure I mentioned was Blake Cashman. You know, he did, you know, he had the... Kind of the stinger evaluation going on and then did end up taking a hit or more than likely giving a hit later on in that game. And he is currently in the concussion protocol. So obviously with the short week, he's doing really, really well. But I'll keep you guys posted on him as we go through the week. So significant divisional game. You know, we're at a place where... We're a 6-2 football team coming off of, you know, a performance that we weren't able to get it done, really two straight weeks, and we've got to try to find a way in a really tough stretch of the year that we know we're very fortunate, you know, to be where we're at eight games into the season, but, you know, the temporary momentum that we're searching for and chasing. It's going to be a challenge against a team that might be playing as well as anybody in the National Football League right now. So, got to go to work on a short week. We'll get our guys ready to go and go compete. Kyler has just started really his running progression, I would call it, Monday, the morning of the game. Yeah. Don't really have an update on him other than he's still in that week-to-week mode. You know, it was a... The hamstring strains respond differently and can progress on different timelines, so don't really have an update other than he, I think on the report you guys, the projection later today he would be a DMP. We'll Carson did sustain a minor ankle injury, but we're projecting him as a limited participant be and hopefully progress throughout the week and be available. right Yeah, I think, you know, what jumped out was. back. Some tight window throws, just in rhythm, on time, you know, total comfort of not only what, you know, the types of throws that, and there's a lot of similar throws in the play pass game, the movement game, and even some of the drop back game. What really stuck out was just with a guy like, you know, Bowers, you know, you see a lot of those throws he's making him, I mean, they're essentially playing him as a tight end on one snap, but he could be the X receiver on the next one and he's getting covered by corners and winning and Kirk's throwing them open and just some of the playmaking, you know, for a team that, you know, has been really competitive and he's been a real, you know, a big reason behind a lot of that. I also thought, just looking at him, the way he seems like he's in great shape, he's moving well, fundamentals and all those things look sharp as ever, and he's been really accurate like he always has been. So it jumped out on the tape and getting a chance to kind of have some crossover tape, let you kill two birds with one stone in regards to some of the opponents we're preparing for and have prepared for. As far as moving forward, yeah, we're obviously with Kyler week to week right now. I'm hopeful that Carson can get to a place where he can be the number two. And I also thought Max going in the game late in the game the other night. You know, he showed some some of the things that he's really worked hard on, you know, and was really firm and, you know, had a lot of plays where, you know, he was totally dialed in on progressions and throwing guys to voids and vacancies. I thought it was, you know, really good to see Max Monday night football come in the game and as he did last year at times come in and, you know, make some make some plays for us. So his growth and development is ongoing. And obviously, you know, Kyler knows we're very much looking forward to him getting healthy. And providing us with the depth of the quarterback room that we have bringing Kirk here and hopeful that Kirk can really pick up where he left off. But also he's joining a six and two football team with nine games to go. Some challenging games ahead. We also finished with five out of seven at home. So the hope is, you know, the expectation I know Kirk's going to put on himself is going to be high, and that's one of the things you love about him. But I also want to, you know, make sure that, you know, we can progressively build this thing and not ask too much of him early on, knowing that we want to be playing our best football in December. You know, we want to be playing our best football in December, but also make sure that we understand the point in the season that we're at right now. Now we need to... You know, specifically start playing better on offense and more consistent to be the team we think we can become. Yeah, you know, I was able to talk to those guys and really, you know, talking to Kyler was just more so, you know, he knows he's not there yet, you know, to be able to be a full participant and get going back again. And a big part of it for him having, you know, some of the experience he's had with something similar in the past is he knows it's important to get healthy so he can be himself. You know, when he gets when he gets back out there, but obviously, you know, those guys understand where we're at in the season. You know, Carson was very much looking forward to the opportunity on Monday night and just did not go our way. And, you know, he was obviously it's a lot to process between the game and then getting that news in a short amount of time later. But they know that, you know, Nolan and myself and everybody else involved. And making a decision like that, we're making it in the best interest of the Minnesota Vikings. And we're trying to do everything we can to become the best version of our team this year in 2026. We have a lot of confidence in what that can be. But, you know, we also know, you know, that it's almost the middle of November. So the time is upon us where we need to, you know, we need to be the type of team that we want to be to hopefully matter when December and January roll around. I just think Kirk, you know, has played the position with principles that. You know, we obviously have been very productive and a very positive thing for him throughout his career. This is now my third time, you know, being around him as a coach. But also when you look at some of the things we've been really striving for as an offense, being a completion-based offense, putting the ball in play in rhythm to allow our playmakers to have an impact on the game, both with the routes they're running, the run after catch. You know, allowing the game to feel a little bit more balanced, you know, we still want to run the football and obviously Kirk is very accustomed to offenses where you can run the football, you can marry the play action, the keeper game. He's, you know, a guy that his accuracy has always been something that you can really lean on, snap in and snap out. So when it comes to plays, it's more, you know, it's more about the principles of how he plays the position, the rhythm, the timing, the anticipation, the accuracy. And then he's got the physical talent to go along with. He works at it, he's going to do everything in his power to get comfortable and get ready to go as soon as possible, and we'll assess ultimately what that looks like for Sunday. But I'm excited to get to go to work with him. I don't think you can have a competition during the season, I know. You know, it's hard enough, well documented, it's hard enough during the off seasons, but it's not something, you know, we acquired Kirk to join a 6-2 football team and play, and as I told Kyler Murray, like, has it been, you know, ideal as far as the, you know, we really learned the 11 snaps into the season, it was less than ideal, and then obviously having, you know, the hamstring. Set him back from maybe continuously stacking the momentum that he was building. The way I look at it is when Kyler's healthy, we'll have a quarterback room that obviously with Kirk and hopefully his comfort and continuing to play as well as he has this year in our offense right now. We feel really good about that, but also feel really good about the potential to have Kyler Murray, Carson, and Max in that room as we push forward here down the stretch. I don't, you know, I don't necessarily think, you know, I think the times when he was, you know, comfortable, he was throwing completions, he was using his athleticism both on schedule and off, both as a passer and as a, I mean, we saw some critical, critical plays with him using his legs. You know, it was just the amount of actual snaps, you know, when you really realize how healthy, you know, when he was healthy, when he was able to have consistent preparation. It just was not, it hasn't been ideal, but I wouldn't by any stretch say that that's a complete thing. It just happened we had the opportunity to acquire a player we know really well. We know that with where we're at right now, how important it is to make sure that to maximize who we want to be as a team, we had an opportunity, and I once again just credit Nolan and his staff for recognizing that and then just the work that took place between all of us to ultimately make it happen. He did. Yeah, he did. I mean, obviously, look, Kyler wishes he could be out there this Sunday. He wished he could have been nothing. You know, killed him more than to not be out there Monday night in a game like that. And, you know, but the reality is what it is. It's it's it's one of those things where, you know, I think he appreciated hearing about it before, you know, before, you know, the transaction took place. But at the same time, he knows, you know, I believe in him. I believe in Kyler. Just like I believe in Carson. I believe in Max. I just I want him to get healthy and get back to work because you just never know. We do not hold the cards in how this will go from a health standpoint or anything like that with anybody on our team. And that's why we prepare young players on our practice squad. We prepare players at all different positions to be able to step up and step. We've just kind of learned over time just the importance of this position and just how it helps unlock not only our offense, but a lot of things on our roster. I, you know, I would just say, you know, there can be a map looking backwards to say it's all over the map. But I would just say we've always just tried to, you know, we can only make the decisions in the moment and try to do what's best. And in many ways, you're projecting in many ways, you're trying to evaluate where you are in that place and where you think you can get to with an optimistic approach about, you know, hopefully, you know, getting the best out of of players and that's growth, development, that's... Whether you acquire a player, a veteran player, but yeah, we're always just more, we're just trying to make decisions in the moment and collaborate on that. And that's been a really cool part of it with Nolan, just not only Nolan, but his staff. I can't speak about Nolan and his staff enough about what it's been like from a procedural and process standpoint and how thorough things are you know and that's how we'll continue to go about it and I'll continue to support him in any way shape or form that I can. Yeah it was hard I you know it's it's one thing Kirk's always done is you know when you know when there's completions to be had he's gonna find him that could be down the field that can be in the intermediate areas that can be check downs that can be just the way Kirk is You know, really been a quarterback that is understood and progressed at a high level to a place of the power of completion, what it does to a defense, what it does to his teammates, what it does to the rhythm of the offense. And that's a unique thing because he can understand the intent of a play, what we're trying to get done. And then also. Understand how to attack that and play very fast and play in a sharp manner that allows the check down on that play for a gain of nine to be just as impressive and impactful as the 30-yard completion. And that's, to me, what Kirk's been doing for his whole career and what he hangs his hat on, as well as the poise and the execution, snap in and snap out, the toughness, the preparation. That, you know, I think is going to be a really great thing to have back around not only our team, but, you know, a lot of the young players on our team. I think it was a thorough process among a lot of positions. And there were some things, quite honestly, there was just conversations going on at different aspects of how do we improve on a roster we feel really strong about? How do we enhance? You know, it's. At the trade deadline, you have the benefit of eight games of inventory on your team to know a little bit more than you do in the off seasons when it's a little bit more of a projection mode. Um, so that leads us to a lot of conversations, but, uh, yeah, we, uh, we were thorough, uh, not only, you know, at the quarterback position, but at multiple positions. Go ahead, Alec. Oh, he, yeah, we, once we were able to, you know, get permission to, to talk, uh, as I was dialing him, he dialed me and, uh, we had a great conversation. Uh, it, it is indeed true. I don't know how that works on the iPhone, but I think if I had to hit the green button, it was me who picked up. But no, we had a great conversation and we've known each other for a really long time. And ultimately just. You know, I had great dialogue about, you know, a lot of things that have, you know, transpired over the past really five years plus going back to our time even in Washington and enjoyed it, you know, and really felt, you know, coming out of that call, you know, knowing it was likely going to be his decision, you know, in the end felt really strongly about, you know, the move we were making. Glad I gave you that one.