The Minnesota Vikings placed quarterback Kirk Cousins’ name on the National Football League’s COVID-19 reserve list 48 hours before their most important game of the season on Sunday night in Green Bay.
Cousins is not vaccinated. Even though he’s asymptomatic, he couldn’t return to the game in time to face the Packers. The NFL recently reduced the quarantine period to five days.
The Vikings (7-8) show a decline of one game for the last place giving access to the playoffs in the National Association, with two weeks on the calendar.
The Packers (12-3) occupy the top of the general classification in the National Association and control their destiny. If they retain the top spot, they will be given a pass straight to the second round of the playoffs.
Separately, the Vikings have activated the name of reserve quarterback Sean Mannion from the COVID-19 reserve list, and the seven-season veteran is expected to start the game at Lambeau Field.
Mannion started one game with the Los Angeles Rams in 2017 and one with the Vikings in 2019. On this last occasion, Cousins was left out in the season finale, as a preventive measure, before the playoffs. .
Kellen Mond, a rookie, and Kyle Sloter, a player who recently joined the Vikings, are the other quarterbacks of the squad.
When Mond tested positive for COVID-19 during training camp, Cousins had to stay away for five days as an unvaccinated close contact.