Vikings QB Kirk Cousins 'at peace' with COVID-19 risks in NFL

(FOX 9) - Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins said he is taking a "survival of the fittest" personal approach to the coronavirus, even if it kills him. In a recent interview on Spotify's "10 Questions With Kyle Brandt" podcast, Cousins said, "If I die, I die. I kind of have peace about that." He also shared his opinion on masks.

“If 1 is the person who says, ‘Masks are stupid, you’re all a bunch of lemmings’ and 10 is, ‘I’m not leaving my master bathroom for the next 10 years,’ where do you land?” Brandt asked Cousins.

“I’m not gonna call anybody stupid, for the trouble it would get me in," Cousins replied. "But I’m about a .000001.”

But Cousins also said that he respects the concerns of others and follows all Vikings and NFL protocols.

“I want to respect what other people’s concerns are," Cousins said. "For me personally, just talking, no one else can get the virus, what is your concern if you could get it, I would say I’m going to go about my daily life. If I get it, I’m going to ride it out. I’m going let nature do its course -- survival of the fittest kind of approach. And just say, if it knocks me out, it knocks me out. I’m going to be OK. You know, even if I die. If I die, I die. I kind of have peace about that."

Cousins also addressed the range of concerns among different groups of people within the Vikings organization.

“I even think in the building there’s going to be a dichotomy of people who couldn’t care less about the virus, have no concern about it, haven’t lost a minute of sleep about it," Cousins said. "And then you get people on the other side of the spectrum who every second of every day they’re consumed with fear about it."

Cousins spoke with reporters on Wednesday in an effort to clarify comments he made in the podcast.

"While the virus does not give me a great amount of personal fear, there’s still great reason for me to engage in wearing a mask, social distancing, washing my hands as frequently as I can and following protocols that have been set in place. Obviously to be respectful and considerate of other people, but also to be available for all 16 games this fall," Cousins said. "There’s plenty of reasons to wear a mask, social distance and be very vigilant to help stop the spread of the virus. That was the heart behind what I was trying to say in July, admittedly I didn’t say it as clear as I would’ve liked to. Admittedly I did not use the best wording and certainly I could’ve articulated it better."

Cousins also clarified his ".000001" comment about people who wear masks.

"I was addressing my own personal perspective. Everybody is different, that’s what I was trying to say. There are many risk factors and other factors that would affect one’s approach. I have family and friends who take a very different approach because of risk factors. Everybody is in a different place," Cousins said.

Last week, eight Vikings players had presumed positive cases of COVID-19, but after another round of testing, the results came back negative.

At the end of the day for Cousins and the Vikings, following strict guidelines and health protocols leads to playing on Sundays. That includes every player, coach and staff member wearing masks when they're inside TCO Performance Center.

"We have to make sure, the whole locker room, we don’t want anybody to get the virus so we can have the best team possible on Sundays," Cousins said.