Everson Griffen signed with the Vikings! You might remember him from his many years as a Minnesota Viking. You might also remember he was the guy with mental health issues and the Vikings basically benched him for half a season due to mental health concerns. He decided to leave the Vikings and test his skills in free agency. It didn’t work out. He did however say that Kirk Cousins was “ass”. He also suggested that Kirk and Zim probably aren’t buds.

Since Kirk is basically the headliner anti-vaxxer on a team that is one of the least vaccinated in the league (despite Mike Zimmer being very vocal about getting the vax) I can’t imagine the locker room is healthy these days. Kirk is the obvious one, I haven’t looked recently but I also saw Adam Theilen, Dalvin Cook, and Harrison Smith weren’t vaxxed yet as of a few weeks ago. Basically all the stars.

We’re entering a different situation from last year. Last year everyone was on the same playing field. Now, with the restrictions in place, a Covid positive test can severely impact a team for a week the way an injury would, and it is going to matter. Whether you want to think about politics or not, they are very much now very visibly intertwined with the season with the new rules. Cole Beasley and another teammate just got sent home for 5 days due to having interactions with a person who tested positive, even though Beasley tested negative. A vaccinated player will not face that level of quarantine. Cam Newton now can’t play the preseason game against the Giants due to the new rules requiring him to wait 5 days after receiving medical care outside the team-approved bubble.

These players have the freedom to not get the shot, but same as any other personal choice that decision comes with the consequences of that choice, and their refusal to get the shot now puts their own careers and earnings in jeopardy, as well as hurting the team in more ways than one. At this point, most of the league is vaxxed and their vax rate is much higher than the average rate of Americans as a whole. Even Nick Bosa got convinced. Maybe FDA approval will help convince a few more.

Anyway I’m looking forward to watching Sack Daddy in purple again and also Kirk Cousins be ass. Is this a make-or-break season for Kirk? It feels like it is.