Unvaccinated Kirk Cousins Says He Would Have Tested Positive for Covid ‘Regardless’: ‘It Didn’t Make a Big Difference’

According to Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, refusing to get vaccinated didn’t play a role in testing positive for Covid last week.

Cousins was cleared from the reserve/Covid-19 list on Wednesday and is expected to start for the Vikings in their last game of the season this weekend. Meeting with reporters Wednesday afternoon, Cousins was asked about handling the criticism he received after being unvaccinated and testing positive for Covid-19.

“In my instance, it wouldn’t have mattered,” Cousins boldly stated. “Just because I had mild symptoms, they don’t want you playing the game with Covid. I would have tested positive regardless. In my case, it didn’t make a big difference.”

NFL Covid protocols prevented Cousins from playing in the Viking’s Sunday night matchup against the Green Bay Packers last weekend. Without their star quarterback, Minnesota lost the game and was simultaneously eliminated from playoff contention.

It is absolutely possible that Cousins may have tested positive for Covid-19 even if he chose to get vaccinated this season. But getting vaccinated also would have undoubtedly increased Cousins’ odds of being eligible to play Sunday night in what was Minnesota’s biggest game of the season.

The NFL recently altered its Covid-19 protocols and now allows fully vaccinated players to return from quarantine after they are asymptomatic for at least 24 hours, regardless of when the positive test was taken. Unvaccinated players, however, are forced to quarantine for at least five days after a positive test.

When Cousins told reporters he was unvaccinated over the summer, he vowed to do “whatever it takes” to avoid a Covid-19 related absence and even suggested surrounding himself in plexiglass. Cousins may have done everything except getting vaccinated, and for that, his chances of playing in Minnesota’s most pivotal game of the year were reduced.

Watch above via KMSP

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