After a season-ending injury disrupted what many believe was his career season and potential MVP campaign, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins told the media that his NFL career is really just God’s career for him to steward. The 35-year-old football star tore his Achilles tendon while playing the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 29.
During a press conference addressing his injury, Cousins shared how he’s thankful for the love of God and the support of friends and family that has kept him strong during this season, adding that he’s taking life “one day at a time.” He said, “You don’t quite know how many people are in your corner or how many people are praying for you and cheering you on until something like this happens. It’s been fun watching our football team win and play at a really high level and kind of continue this run. Just excited to kind of see where the season goes, even though I’m a bystander. I think it’s still a lot of excitement up ahead.”
Despite being in primarily high spirits, Cousins said he’s somewhat disappointed about how the injury might potentially impact the trajectory of his career. He said, “I’m still mad, you know. I’m still disappointed. But then you go right back to all the things you know, I can’t change it. I got to move forward. That’s what we signed up for when we step between the white lines, and I’m fortunate to have come this far and not had surgery in football.”
Cousins continued, “I just believe there’s more of a story up ahead. I really believe that in the core of my being. And I don’t know what that’ll be.” Even with some disappointment, the quarterback said he will continue surrendering his life and career to God, as he always has. He said, “I’m excited to kind of write the next chapter and see what God wants to do with it, whatever it may be. And just kind of be reminded, again, that you know, I’ve kind of got my career. It’s not my career. You know, it’s kind of His career that I steward. And I just got to surrender myself and let Him lead where He wants to go.”
While he does not have an exact date of when he will be cleared to play football again, Cousins said that the time it takes to recover from a torn Achilles tendon appears to be shorter than what it once was years prior. Cousins said he would be lying if he said he didn’t wrestle with his faith immediately following the injury.
However, he said he is now “learning to play the sport holding my hands open and saying, ‘God, whatever you want to do, if that means a torn Achilles, I’ve got to accept that.’”