Kirk Cousins' Status for Vikings vs. Packers Discussed by HC After Raiders Trade at NFL Deadline

Minnesota Vikings general manager Nolan Teasley hinted Kirk Cousins could potentially jump right into the starting lineup beginning with Sunday's matchup at the Green Bay Packers.

Teasley told reporters Wednesday it would ultimately be up to head coach Kevin O'Connell to decide which quarterback will start.

"I would leave that to Kevin, he's going to put us in the best position to succeed," Teasley said. "But we also didn't acquire Kirk to not play."

Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said as of Wednesday Kyler Murray is still week-to-week with a hamstring injury, but stopped short of naming Cousins starter against the Packers.

"I think it's still too early to commit wholeheartedly to what the plan on Sunday looks like, but I will say, excited about the opportunity of spending every moment we can between now and then to get [Cousins] comfortable and allow him to play for us this Sunday," O'Connell said.

"So, that's what we're working towards, but also want to be fair to Kirk and make sure he feels good about it."

Murray was sidelined with a Grade 2 hamstring strain from Monday's loss to the Buffalo Bills, during which Carson Wentz struggled as his replacement. The Vikings acquired Cousins from the Las Vegas Raiders the following day.

"Kyler, he wasn't able to play on Monday," Teasley said. "I don't want to get into next week, but that's really what his status is... We're looking to acquire a player that's healthy, and able, and ready to go."

Teasley added he considered Cousins' existing familiarity with the Vikings and O'Connell's system as a "bonus."

When asked if Murray would get a chance to compete with Cousins for the QB1 job when healthy, O'Connell said he didn't "think you can have a competition during the season."

"We acquired Kirk to join a 6-2 football team and play, and as I told Kyler Murray... we really learned that 11 snaps into the season it was less than ideal, and then obviously having the hamstring set him back from maybe continuously stacking the momentum that he was building," O'Connell said.

"The way I look at it is, when Kyler's healthy, we'll have a quarterback room that obviously with Kirk, and hopefully his comfort and continuing to play as well as he has this year in our offense right now. We feel really good about that, but also feel really good about the potential to have Kyler Murray, Carson and Max [Brosmer] in that room."

O'Connell added Wentz, who went 6-for-23 and threw two interceptions in Monday's loss to the Bills, is limited with an ankle injury.

Should Wentz remain sidelined this weekend, the Vikings could be hoping to start Cousins with Brosmer as his backup.

Cousins, who most recently saw action Sunday with the Raiders, had started nine games prior to his trade and is now joining a Vikings team that had already had its bye week.

Should O'Connell ultimately name Cousins starter ahead of Sunday's kickoff at Lambeau Field, the 38-year-old could potentially end up playing an 18-game regular season.