During an October game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Minnesota Vikings star quarterback Kirk Cousins was brought into the visiting locker room. He soon learned that he had a Torn right achilles.
The four-time Pro Bowler was wearing a microphone at the time. At first, Cousins believed he had simply suffered an ankle injury. “Yeah, I got shot in the ankle,” Cousins was caught on microphone telling the medical staff in the moments after the injury.
In a recent edition of “The Voyage,” a Vikings digital series, Cousins detailed the moments following his season-ending injury.
“When I first got hurt, I didn't think I did anything that bad because they were stepping on me all the time… it just felt like they were stepping on my heel,” the 35-year-old quarterback said.
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Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, No. 8, is helped off the field after suffering an injury in the fourth quarter of an NFL game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via AP)
Cousins admitted he was in a state of denial regarding the severity of the injury and assumed he would only miss a few games.
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“At first I assumed, 'Oh, it's a sprained ankle. The next month will be tough while I rehab, but I'll be able to play. I'm a pocket passer,'” he continued. “I still didn't think I broke anything. I still didn't think it would be the end of the season. I just knew it would probably be the end of the game.”
“I was in denial,” he concluded.
At one point, a member of the Vikings' training staff instructed Cousins to lean on him so the quarterback could be helped to the sideline. However, Cousins seemed determined to make it to the bench under his own power, saying: “I don't want to use you, I just want to jump.”
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, #8, during an NFL football game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Carolina Panthers on October 1, 2023 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina . (John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The trainers also asked Cousins to identify which part of his ankle was hurting. The interlocutor responded by saying “the back.”
“I went to throw, and my heel stuck in the ground, and someone stepped on me and I went, and my heel didn't move,” Cousins said once he reached the bench. “So I stressed it like crazy. I didn't feel anything when I went to go. I just pushed and didn't get anything. I just don't feel much when I push.”
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, No. 8, throws a pass during an NFL game between the Minnesota Vikings and the San Francisco 49ers on Oct. 23, 2023, at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. (Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Rookie quarterback Jaren Hall was called into action after Cousins' injury. As Cousins walked into the blue medical tent, he offered some words of encouragement to the young quarterback, saying, “You've got them, Jaren. They're going to run the ball. You've got them.”
Hall finished the Week 8 game against the Green Bay Packers with 23 passing yards. The Vikings held on to defeat the Packers 24-10.
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Cousins ultimately missed the remainder of the season and underwent successful surgery to repair his Achilles tendon. He is scheduled to become a free agent when his contract with Minnesota expires in March.
“I obviously knew what that meant. I'll be out for the year. I look at 2024 as the next time I'll step on a football field,” Cousins said last November.
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