Kirk Cousins' COVID absence a reminder of Vikings' fragile backup QB situation
EAGAN — You want the good news first or the bad news first?
The good news for the Minnesota Vikings is that starting quarterback Kirk Cousins isn’t expected to miss very many days of practice after testing positive for COVID, per head coach Kevin O’Connell’s announcement on Friday. Cousins wasn’t feeling well when he arrived at the team facility on Thursday and was sent home, then the team later confirmed he indeed had COVID. O’Connell said that his symptoms are mild and he can return next Tuesday, in accordance with the NFL’s protocols. If that’s the case, he will miss only one full practice and one walk-through practice. It wasn’t clear whether he was going to play at all in Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders but if O’Connell followed his old team’s route of sitting starters during the preseason Cousins would have been watching from the sidelines anyway.
“I don’t want to minimize the importance of getting the reps, obviously as coaches we think the reps are really important, but we’re happy with the place that Kirk is at with this offense, with his command of the huddle and his grasp of the playbook at this point,” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. “Kirk is a veteran. He’s got a lot of experience. He’s going to be fine as soon as we can get him back.”
No harm, no foul. Better now than literally any other time.
On the other side of the coin is the backup QB battle between Sean Mannion and Kellen Mond, which hasn’t exactly seen somebody pull ahead. The Vikings were coy about which player would start and O’Connell said that Mannion and Mond would split reps “50-50.” Sunday’s starter will probably tell us who is leading the battle (unless they split every other drive) but save for a superstar showing from either player, questions will remain based on each player’s past and camp foibles thus far.
Mannion has been through this before. He’s been a backup in the NFL since 2015, routinely outlasting players with more “potential” by executing the offense better during training camp. Mond is one of those guys with more potential. As a third round pick in 2021, he has a strong arm and mobility that Mannion doesn’t even begin to approach but he hasn’t mastered the very difficult art of getting the ball to the right place on time.
After Thursday’s practice in which Mannion was considerably more effective with the first team, Mond and O’Connell had a long one-on-one conversation. Mond talked after practice about the message from the head coach.
“Go out, don’t think, just react, I know the offense, react, play ball and have fun,” Mond said. “I know the playbook. Go out, execute and trust my eyes and play fast…with my feet and eyes and continue to process…it’ll be a great test for me and I’m excited for it.”
When it comes to their backup QBs, the Vikings are in a pretty similar situation as most teams. Last year NFL backups won 23 of 88 games started and the only No. 2 or 3 quarterbacks with more than one start and a winning record were Case Keenum, Taysom Hill and Colt McCoy.
Still, while the Vikings may not be unique in having questions about whether their backup QBs are competent, they will be on the extreme end of backup QB shortcomings if neither Mannion or Mond takes the reins. Some teams at least have hope that they can get a win with the backup in the game.
And for some clubs, that one win has made all the difference. Last year the Eagles traded a sixth-round pick for Gardner Minshew, who won one of his two starts, helping propel the Eagles to the playoffs. In 2019, Matt Moore went 1-for-2, with his win coming against the Vikings, and that was the difference between clinching home field advantage for the Chiefs in their Super Bowl year. Even before his magical run in the playoffs, Nick Foles led the Eagles to two wins in three games down the stretch to gain home field for Philly in the playoffs.
On the other end of the spectrum was last year’s Mannion start against Green Bay. The Vikings entered the game still alive in the playoff race but were disposed of quickly by the Packers without Cousins at the helm.
Sunday’s game against the Raiders isn’t about somebody proving that the Vikings have their future quarterback on the roster or that either player could lead them to a magical Randall Cunningham ‘98 or Case Keenum ‘17 season, it’s the idea that either Mond or Mannion could play in one or two games and keep the year alive if called upon.
“We’re excited that both Kellen and Sean are going to be able to hopefully split reps, get a lot of reps and we’ll really be able to evaluate them,” Phillips said.
If Phillips and the staff walk out of Las Vegas less excited than they were walking in, the Vikings may have to look elsewhere for somebody else who could play if Cousins has another absence during the regular season — though the options may not look a whole lot different than Mond/Mannion.
