Kirk Cousins

BIOGRAPHY

Kirk Cousins was born on born August 19th, 1988, in Barrington, Illinois. He is a quarterback in the NFL.

Cousins is the son of Don Cousins, a senior pastor at Discovery Church in Orlando, Florida, and Maryann Cousins. He is the second of three children. Born in Barrington, Illinois, Cousins attended Holland Christian High School in Holland, Michigan, where he starred in football, baseball, and basketball for the Maroons athletic teams.

He played college football at Michigan State, where he was the Spartans' starter from 2009 to 2011. In 2011, his Michigan State Spartans went 11–3 (7–2) and played in the first-ever Big Ten championship game. Cousins was named Second Team All-Big Ten by the coaches and played his final game as a Michigan State Spartan on January 2nd, 2012 defeating the Georgia Bulldogs in the Outback Bowl. His teams posted an undefeated 4–0 record against the in-state rival Michigan Wolverines. Cousins won the 2011 Lowes's Senior CLASS Award.

On March 15, 2018, Cousins signed with the Minnesota Vikings on a fully guaranteed three-year contract worth $84 million. This is the first fully guaranteed, and as of signing, the highest paying contract in NFL history.

On March 13, 2022, Cousins signed a one-year, $35 million fully guaranteed contract extension through the 2023 season. In the season opener against the Green Bay Packers, Cousins threw 23-of-32 passes for 277 yards with two touchdowns, and a 118.9 passer rating in 23–7 victory. In the following week against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football, Cousins passed 27 completions of 46 attempts for 221 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions in a 7–24 blowout loss. In Week 5 against the Chicago Bears, Cousins completed a one–yard touchdown pass to Jalen Reagor for his 19th consecutive completion (17 to open to game, and 2 from Week 4 against the New Orleans Saints. The feat broke Tommy Kramer's team record of 16 consecutive completions, which he set during the 1979 season. In Week 6 against the Miami Dolphins, Cousins threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns in a 24–16 win.

In the following bye week, Cousins completed 24 of 36 passes for 232 passing yards and two touchdowns in 34–26 victory against the Arizona Cardinals. In Week 10 against the Buffalo Bills, Cousins completed 30-of-50 passes for 357 passing yards with one passing touchdown and two interceptions in 33–30 overtime win. In Week 14, against the Detroit Lions, Cousins passed for 425 yards and two touchdowns in the 34–23 loss.

In a week 15 game against the Indianapolis Colts, Cousins completed 34 of 54 passes for a career-high 460 passing yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions with a 99.3 passer rating in the 39–36 overtime win, highlighted by the Vikings completing the largest comeback in NFL history. With the win, the Vikings also clinched the NFC North for the first time since 2017. For this, Cousins was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 15. The next week, on a Christmas Eve matchup against the New York Giants at home, Cousins completed 34 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns in a 27–24 win, in which he orchestrated a last-minute drive that culminated in kicker Greg Joseph making the longest field goal in Vikings' history, a 61-yard attempt, to defeat the Giants. His eight game-winning drives led the NFL for the 2022 season and tied the NFL record (since 1960) for a single season with Matthew Stafford's 2016 season. He was named as a Pro Bowler for his 2022 season.