Kirk Cousins' welcome-back-to-Minnesota press conference Wednesday was awesome. He was energized, honest and obviously excited to return to the Vikings three-plus years after suiting up for Minnesota at Green Bay to end October 2023.

It was a special scene. And another special scene resurfaced the night before, hours after the trade for Cousins became official. It was a three-and-a-half-minute video clip showing what makes Cousins so different than some of the most successful people in their sports.

Namely, he's not too big for anyone.

The Athletic's Dan Steinberg on Thursday revisited the viral moment — then and now — that transpired after Cousins returned to U.S. Bank Stadium for the first time as Atlanta's quarterback in 2024 and lost 42-21 to the Vikings led by Sam Darnold. The video begins with a post-game handshake and hug between the passers and a message from Darnold into Cousins' ear that was picked up by a microphone: "The people here love you, dude."

Afterward, the love that Cousins holds for them was apparent, too, as he greeted familiar face after familiar face and had something meaningful to say to each person he embraced.

Steinberg wrote that "his postgame greeting line looked like something out of a big Greek wedding reception," and it reminded him of a moment from years ago when Cousins was Washington's QB and he was "doing things that NFL starting quarterbacks don't really do.

"Like keeping a printout of every media member's face in his locker," Steinberg continued.

Cousins told a D.C.-area TV reporter back then he was trying to remember names, and he did, according to Steinberg, whose face was included in the class yearbook-style printout.

Here's an excerpt from Steinberg's story that highlights Cousins' endearing uniqueness:

He called us by name and asked us enough questions in the locker room that sometimes it was hard to ask him about football. Some fans thought it was calculated, or even phony, trying to work the room for his own benefit. I can't get inside his head enough to tell you whether that posture was genuine or something else.

But I can say no other starting quarterback I've ever interviewed wanted to talk to me about the implications of the biblical Book of Esther in a postgame locker room. Or to tell me he was "thrilled to talk" about an impromptu office space he had set up in the team facility, complete with "nearly limitless shelving," a Jeff Foxworthy "You Might Be a Redneck If …" one-a-day calendar, a whiteboard and some of Michael Scott's accoutrements from "The Office." Or to explain the intricacies of a "Lord of the Rings" locker room club. ("I texted [teammates] when I was done, saying, 'This is the best!' and asking them questions about the ring and Mordor and Middle Earth," he once told me.)

Click to read Steinberg's article, which dives into the tower of stones that Cousins stacked outside his home and an even more viral moment ("You like that!") that's part of his journey.

Midseason recognition for Vikings players

Many outlets have released their midseason All-Pro teams this week.

Two articles shared on ESPN by Bill Barnwell and Ben Solak are worth highlighting since they show love to a few Vikings players. Barnwell touted linebacker Blake Cashman and returner Myles Price as First-Team All-Pros, while Solak included Cashman and outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel on his Second Team (Solak didn't fill out the returner spots).

Barnwell didn't elaborate on his selections, which were part of a midseason awards article. Solak offered up his thought process for several of the positions but didn't specifically write about Cash' or Gink'. Therefore, we will make the All-Pro case for each Viking below.

Cashman, who is in jeopardy of missing his first game in 2026 in Week 10 at the Packers because he is in the concussion protocol, is averaging 9.5 tackles per game and has either already matched or is on the cusp of resetting his single-season highs for sacks, passes defended and QB hits, with 4.5, seven and 10, respectively. He spreads communication as the Green Dot player on the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL, and his high-energy play style rubs off on the entire defense. He's the only player across the league with at least 50 tackles, 4.0 sacks and five passes defended, as well as the only player with 75-plus tackles, and five or more for a loss and five passes defended. His production? It's peerless.

Van Ginkel is almost on a sack-per-game pace and is up to 16 QB hits, which ranks eighth in the NFL and is four away from his single-season benchmark set on the Dolphins in 2021 (that's right, under then-Fins Head Coach Brian Flores). Gink' has been a consistent force off the edge since Week 1 this season — he's impactful dropping into coverage, as well, and does it often — when he had 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble during Minnesota's comeback win over Green Bay. And he was sensational in his past two games. Van Ginkel had 2.5 sacks in the first half at Detroit and logged another in prime time against Buffalo (and nearly ripped the ball free from Josh Allen inside the Bills 5-yard line). The 2024 Second-Team All-Pro is the lone player to tally consecutive games with two QBH in the first quarter in 2026, and he's accompanied by Pittsburgh's T.J. Watt as the only players with 7.0 or more sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. Gink' should get DPOY consideration.

Price leads the NFL in combined kick and punt return yards (1,010) and is doing historically well in the punt return phase, averaging 17.5 yards, with an 86-yard house call, over 15 ops. That average is the 13^th highest since 1941 among players with a minimum of 15 returns; it's the best mark by a Vikings player — bumping down Marcus Sherels' 15.2 average in 2013 — and the all-time record is 21.5 achieved by Pro Football Hall of Famer Jack Christiansen in 1952. Price is equally dangerous as a kickoff returner, averaging 29.9 yards. The only guys with a higher average, and at least 10 returns, are Dylan Laube (32.3) and Ray Davis (31.0).

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