Vikings’ Kirk Cousins decries national news as ‘toxic,’ enjoys ‘somewhat pure’ local coverage

Kirk Cousins’ likability skyrocketed in recent weeks as Netflix’s “Quarterback” series debuted featuring the Minnesota Vikings quarterback along with Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes and former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota.

Cousins may have earned even more brownie points earlier this week as he sat down with KARE 11 and talked about how he likes watching the local news rather than the national news. His comments seemed to take journalist Jana Shortal by surprise.

“I love local news,” Cousins said. 

“It’s just – obviously, most news is kind of gone like this,” he added, pointing his hand in a downward motion. “It’s just toxic. And I feel like local news is still somewhat pure.”

Shortal made a good point, saying, “Local news has not been nice to you for five years.”

Cousins said that was “OK.”

ROBERT SALEH’S CRAZY ANALOGY IN INSPIRING SPEECH HAS JETS FIRED UP IN ‘HARD KNOCKS’ PREMIERE

“I don’t know. When I watch it, I just feel like at least some good quality news instead of just trying to incite people.”

Shortal responded, “Bless you, Kirk Cousins.”

Cousins is entering a pivotal season with the Vikings. He signed a one-year contract extension last year for 2023 and will earn $35 million guaranteed. He could become a free agent at the start of the 2024 offseason.

Last season, he had one of the best years as a member of the Vikings. He had 4,547 passing yards and 29 touchdown passes as Minnesota went 13-4. The team was eliminated in the wild-card round of the playoffs by the New York Giants.