Cousins ranks second in the NFL in passing yards (1,498), has a 13-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio and is seventh in passer rating (101.7). Aside from his early turnover issues (and his teammates’ ongoing issues in that department), Cousins is surpassing his team record. At 35 years old, he deserves better.
Because the Vikings are doing the opposite of what propelled them to the NFC North title a year ago — losing close games instead of winning them — there’s a lot to be said about Cousins as the NFL trades on Oct. 31 The noise ahead will only continue to increase as the approaches. He ignored it for now and relied on his flip phone, which had no access to social media, for social isolation.
“You know, ignorance is bliss, and I was really ignorant,” Cousins said. “I don’t really have access to a lot of stuff, and I try to do that through design, so it’s very intentional. Other than high school friends who might text me something they’re reading, I’ll text them back— —And you know, I’d rather remain ignorant, so I’m happy not to get text messages.
“Other than that, I don’t really know what’s going on. I’ve been quarantined to the point of being naive and a little stupid at times, but I’d rather be wrong about that than consume everything and just have to… .Again, it just takes your focus away from the important things and the things that help you play your game, so that’s what I want to do.”
Focusing on football has worked for Cousins so far. That wasn’t good enough for the rest of the Vikings, who continued to give up possession too early and often a league-leading 12 times and lacked the strength to overcome this self-inflicted early deficit. .
We’ll see if the Vikings realize this isn’t their year and send Cousins elsewhere for a quality return. Otherwise, Cousins will continue as usual and click on his T9 Word feature to send a message to his friend.
