MINNEAPOLIS — Kirk Cousins plans to be ready to return for practice in the spring wherever he ends up playing next season.
Cousins continues progressing from a torn Achilles tendon that ended his season after eight games. He’s set to become a free agent following six years with the Minnesota Vikings but the team wants him back and the feeling is mutual.
“My expectation is that I’ll be able to practice during OTAs as normal,” Cousins told the AP on Wednesday. “But the question will be, is it worth it? And so you have to weigh that a little bit. But my goal would be that I’m saying I can go and you guys are going to have to stop me because I feel that good. If I’m not allowed into the full-team drills, I know I can do basically a full-speed practice on the field next to it is pretty much my goal.
“But 7-on-7, there’s nobody around you. It’s a safe drill. So at a minimum, I would think that’s a drill that, as a pocket-passing quarterback, would be very doable. And that’s kind of the beauty of the Achilles injury is that you can get back and you can get going again in a way that isn’t as crippling as if it was a back injury or something that’s a little more critical, like your shoulder or your elbow.”
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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – DECEMBER 31: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings looks on from the sidelines before the game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium on December 31, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Stephen Maturen / Getty Images
Cousins called his recovery “a real positive process” and said the healing is on track. He spoke with Aaron Rodgers prior to having surgery. Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon in the first quarter of the first game and was able to return to practice just 77 days later but he wasn’t cleared to play and the New York Jets were out of the playoff race anyway.
“He obviously kind of blazed the trail with being able to get back on the practice field so quickly and kind of set a high bar,” Cousins said. “I think he’s given me and a lot of people who have torn their Achilles a lot of hope and encouragement that it can be a quick return and you can be back to your old self without really too much lost time. Hopefully both of us are playing next year and we don’t even remember that we tore it a year ago.”
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Cousins threw for 2,331 yards with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions, finishing third in the NFL in passer rating (103.8). He led the Vikings to a 4-4 record before he was injured. The team went 3-6 with Joshua Dobbs, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall starting in his place.
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah already said he wants Cousins to return and plans to offer him a new contract. Coach Kevin O’Connell and star wide receiver Justin Jefferson also made it clear they want Cousins in purple and gold.
“I appreciate their support, and the feelings are mutual in terms of being so grateful that I’ve gotten to play with Justin and been coached by the great coaches I’ve had,” Cousins said. “So, it goes both ways. And, I think that’s part of the feeling in Minnesota for a while has been we have a good locker room and we all really enjoy the group we have and the work we’ve done together.”
Cousins, who turns 36 before next season, can’t be franchise-tagged. He said winning will be his priority as he determines his future.
MORE: Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins admits low spice tolerance in new ad: “Honey barbecue is my ceiling”
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“That will kind of always be the priority but what’s interesting is how unpredictable winning can be,” he said. “There are teams every year that you think should be in the Super Bowl, and they don’t even make the playoffs. And then there’s teams that you think had no business making the playoffs and they’re making it to the second or third round.”
Cousins, a favorite among fans and teammates, has been showing a fun side to his personality in recent years from going shirtless with a thick gold chain around his neck to singing a duet with Kelly Clarkson in a tribute to Tom Brady at the “NFL Honors” show last year.
Now, Cousins is swapping his helmet for a chef’s hat, partnering with Tostitos to give fans a chance to win a Super Bowl experience that includes tickets to the game and and a VIP reservation at Tost by Tostitos with tableside service by the four-time Pro Bowl QB.
“I’ll be showing up to prepare and serve the food at the restaurant, so it should be a lot of fun,” Cousins said.
Donovan Mitchell scored 36 points, Darius Garland added 29 and the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers took control in the second half and beat the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 124-117 on Saturday night.
With the teams tied at halftime, Cleveland (35-6) outscored Minnesota by 10 in the third quarter and opened the fourth with a 10-0 run to seize control.
Anthony Edwards scored 28 points and Julius Randle finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for Minnesota.
Cleveland was without forward Evan Mobley, who sat with right calf soreness, and Isaac Okoro, sidelined with a right AC joint sprain. Both played in Thursday’s loss to Oklahoma City.
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Minnesota was also missing a key player as guard Donte DiVincenzo sat for the second straight game with a left great toe sprain.
Edwards became the third-youngest player in NBA history to score 8,000 points. Only LeBron James and Kevin Durant reached 8,000 points at a younger age than Edwards.
Takeaways
Cavaliers: Cleveland responded well after its biggest loss of the year, a 20-point rout by the Thunder on Thursday. The Cavs’ win prevented what would have been just their second two-game losing streak of the season.
Timberwolves: Minnesota seemed to run out of gas after halftime on the second night of a back-to-back after beating the Knicks on Friday in New York. The Wolves are 2-4 this season in the second game of back-to-backs.
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Key moment
Ty Jerome scored six straight points to end the third quarter, including a three-point play with 4.1 seconds remaining in the quarter, to give Cavaliers a 10-point lead. Minnesota couldn’t recover from that double-digit deficit as the momentum swung in Cleveland’s direction.
Key stat
Cleveland had 15-point efforts from bench players Ty Jerome and Georges Niang.
Up next
Both teams play Monday. The Cavaliers host Phoenix, while the Timberwolves play at Memphis.
Minnesota Timberwolves (22-20, eighth in the Western Conference) vs. Memphis Grizzlies (27-15, third in the Western Conference)
Memphis, Tennessee; Monday, 2:30 p.m. EST
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BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Grizzlies -1.5; over/under is 218.5
BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota will try to keep its four-game road win streak intact when the Timberwolves play Memphis.
The Grizzlies have gone 14-12 against Western Conference teams. Memphis ranks sixth in the NBA averaging 14.2 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 37.3% from deep. Desmond Bane leads the team averaging 2.2 makes while shooting 37.0% from 3-point range.
The Timberwolves are 16-12 in conference games. Minnesota averages 14.8 turnovers per game and is 10-5 when turning the ball over less than opponents.
The 123.4 points per game the Grizzlies average are 15.4 more points than the Timberwolves give up (108.0). The Timberwolves are shooting 46.1% from the field, 1.2% higher than the 44.9% the Grizzlies’ opponents have shot this season.
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TOP PERFORMERS: Jaren Jackson Jr. is scoring 22.6 points per game with 6.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists for the Grizzlies.
Anthony Edwards is averaging 26.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists for the Timberwolves.
LAST 10 GAMES: Grizzlies: 5-5, averaging 121.7 points, 46.4 rebounds, 26.8 assists, 9.6 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 48.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 119.6 points per game.
Timberwolves: 5-5, averaging 112.9 points, 45.5 rebounds, 24.3 assists, 6.0 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 47.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 110.1 points.
INJURIES: Grizzlies: Cam Spencer: out (thumb), Marcus Smart: out (finger), Ja Morant: day to day (foot), Vince Williams Jr.: out (ankle), GG Jackson II: out (foot ).
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Timberwolves: Terrence Shannon Jr.: out (ankle), Donte DiVincenzo: day to day (toe).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Josefin Bouveng posted a hat trick and the third-ranked Gophers women’s hockey team scored the first four goals of the contest on its way to a 5-2 win over Minnesota State Saturday afternoon in Mankato, Minn., completing the series sweep.
It didn’t take long for Bouveng and the Gophers (19-5-1) to strike Saturday afternoon. For the second consecutive day, it was Bouveng who found the back of the net first, scoring a power-play goal 1 minute, 47 seconds into the game.
Allie Franco scored with 2 minutes, 52 seconds remaining in the first period to make it a two-goal advantage for the U. Abbey Murphy scored 3 minutes, 18 seconds into the second period on a goal Bouveng assisted on, then Bouveng made it a 4-0 Gophers lead with a goal midway through the period. That all but sealed the series sweep for Minnesota.
But the Mavericks (10-13-1) found some life later in the period, getting a power-play goal from Alexis Paddington with 1 minute, 27 seconds remaining in the second period. JuliAnna Gazdik scored unassisted 10 minutes, 23 seconds into the third period to give Minnesota State one last longshot at tying it up over the final 10 minutes of the contest.
But Bouveng scored an empty-netter, and completed a hat trick, with 27 seconds remaining. The hat trick was the second of her career and first since Oct. 15, 2022, which also came against the Mavericks. Her first career goal came that day.
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Bouveng ices the game with her 2️⃣nd career HATTY! 🎩🚨
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