Video: Kirk Cousins Honored by Vikings After Achilles Injury Ahead of Falcons Game

Minnesota Vikings players offered their support to quarterback Kirk Cousins ahead of Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons.

The team wore matching T-shirts during warmups.

Cousins will miss the remainder of the 2023 season after suffering a torn Achilles in a Week 8 win over the Green Bay Packers. That may have been his last appearance in a Vikings uniform, too, since he's due to be a free agent in the offseason.

Cousins has received plenty of criticism throughout his career for his perceived inability to break through to the elite tier at his position. Minnesota signed him in 2018 because it considered him the piece necessary to get the franchise over the top, and he's likely to leave having failed to guide the Vikings past the NFC divisional round in two playoff trips.

But Sunday's gesture shows how much the 35-year-old means to his squad.

"I can't really describe it," safety Harrison Smith said. "You've got to experience it to know. He's a dude. Everybody in here loves him. He's so much tougher than he gets credit for. He makes these throws and he stares down the barrel and he f--king slings it in there. I feel for him. I feel for him."

Tight end T.J. Hockenson, who joined the team ahead of the 2022 trade deadline, spoke of Cousins in similar terms.

Now, the pressure is on Jaren Hall to help keep the Vikings on their current pace to at least secure a wild-card berth. The fifth-round draft pick went 3-of-4 for 23 yards after coming on in relief of Cousins against Green Bay.