QB Kirk Cousins’ Durability in Contrast with League

The term “protecting the quarterback” has always been crucial for the success of NFL teams, but this season it’s taken on a whole new meaning.

Several teams across the league have had injuries to its quarterbacks, including San Francisco (Trey Lance), Miami (Tagovailoa), the New York Giants (Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor), Dallas (Dak Prescott), New England (Mac Jones and Brian Hoyer) and New Orleans (Jameis Winston).

Mark Craig of the Star Tribune recently looked at Cousins’ ability to stay durable throughout his career, especially with Minnesota. He wrote:

Cousins arrived in Minnesota in 2018 as a guy who gambled not only on his talented arm but his durability, the mother of all traits favored by Bud Grant, still the ultimate Upper Midwest face of the Vikings (*4*) franchise.

Meanwhile, Cousins keeps showing up. Week after week. Series after series. Snap after snap. Win after loss, loss after win.

Of a possible 4,685 snaps, Cousins has played 4,577 of them, appearing in 69 of the Vikings 71 games (includes two postseason contests) since he joined the team. He’s only missed two games, one due to rest before the playoffs in the 2019 season and the other because of COVID-19 against Green Bay in Week 17 last year.