The Vikings will begin their second week of training camp without the majority of their signal-callers due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Minnesota placed quarterbacks Kirk Cousins, Kellen Mond and Nate Stanley on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the team announced Monday. Rookie receiver Myron Mitchell has also been placed on the list.
The official designations of the trio of quarterbacks left the Vikings with just one experienced passer currently available for practice: Jake Browning. The former Washington Huskies quarterback is fully vaccinated, according to Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, who did not hide his displeasure with those who have chosen to decline vaccination.
Zimmer expressed disappointment Saturday with players on his team who were not vaccinated and reiterated that stance when talking to reporters Monday.
“Some of them just won’t do it," he said, via Purple Insider. "Some of the things they read are out there. It’s their belief, so whatever they’ve heard or read or been told. Maybe they don’t believe what [NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills] told them either”
Browning will see a significant increase in reps as long as the other three quarterbacks remain on the COVID-19 list. The Vikings are also planning on signing quarterback Case Cookus, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Monday. Pelissero reported the Vikings also worked out Cole McDonald, who could be an option depending on how Browning and Cookus perform. Not done there, the Vikings claimed former Patriots quarterback Danny Etling, Pelisserro reported. Drafted in the 2018 seventh round by the Pats, Etling has spent time with New England along with the Falcons and Seahawks organizations, but has yet to play a regular-season down.
Zimmer also said Monday that it's a consideration to have an emergency quarterback quarantined during the season in case of a similar situation occurring during the regular season, but that will depend on how many QBs end up vaccinated, per the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Mond recently tested positive for COVID-19, and Cousins and Stanley are considered high-risk close contacts under the NFL and NFLPA's COVID-19 protocols, leading to their removal from activities Saturday.
High-risk close contacts are required to isolate upon learning of their previous contact with an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19, per protocol, and will remain isolated until PCR virus test results are negative. Fully vaccinated individuals are also tested daily for three days following exposure when considered a close contact, but are not considered to be high-risk, meaning they are not required to isolate.
"I think we could put this thing to bed if we could all do this," Zimmer said of COVID-19 vaccinations, via the Pioneer Press.