For veteran NFL quarterback Kirk Cousins, intensity is the name of the game—for both football and his Christian faith. Citing Colossians 3:23, the 35-year-old Minnesota Vikings QB said he strives to give “all of my heart” in everything he does.
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The husband and father of two also is likable and relatable, as viewers of the recent Netflix docuseries “Quarterback” can attest. Cousins drives a minivan, lets his wife pick out his clothes, reads to and prays with his sons at bedtime, and personally responds to letters from fans.
When it comes to his faith, Cousins said he can’t compartmentalize his time on and off the field because his relationship with God is an ongoing conversation. In fact, Cousins said he prays not just before games but during every quarter and at halftime.
Why Kirk Cousins Gives Football His All
Ahead of his 12th pro season, which begins when the Vikings host the Bucs on Sept. 10, Kirk Cousins appeared on the “Sports Spectrum” podcast to discuss football and faith. “I’ve always felt that God in his providence organized events to make me a professional quarterback because he knew it would be a career that would keep me close to him and teach me more about him,” Cousins told host Jason Romano.
Last season, Cousins said, God “taught me so much about himself,” partly through a team Bible study about defending your faith. The QB, nicknamed Captain Kirk, said it has gradually become easier for him to have conversations about God with teammates “in a nonthreatening way.”
In the locker room, Cousins turns to worship music playlists for game preparation. Those songs “focus your perspective on an eternal perspective and on who God is and his love for you and the trust you’re placing in him,” he said.
Cousins, a four-time Pro Bowler, orchestrated the largest comeback in NFL history during last season’s playoffs. In February, he won the Bart Starr award for “outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field, and in the community.”
Although Cousins has said he’d love to win a Super Bowl before retiring, he shared that his most important goals are to “impact people for eternity” and “share the Gospel.”
Kirk Cousins: ‘God Is the Tray’
For an analogy about his faith, Cousins told “Sports Spectrum” that if life is a cafeteria, then “God is the tray…that everything sits on.” So everything he does must glorify God, added Cousins, the son of a pastor.
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Since the QB’s college career at Michigan State, his family members have prayed Ephesians 3:20-21 over his games. “I look back now with a sample size that’s much larger, with the number of years we’ve been playing,” Cousins said, “and you can see the times that that prayer has been answered.”
