After a roller coaster start to the NFL season, the Minnesota Vikings got back on track in Week 5 with a road win over the New York Giants. Quarterback Kirk Cousins looked good, too, completing 22 of his 27 passes for a season-high 306 yards and two touchdowns. There was nothing too crazy about the game, but what happened after was as special as it was random.
Things haven't been easy for Cousins this year. For whatever reason, he publicly apologized to wide receiver Adam Thielen for missing throws, while fellow star receiver Stefon Diggs has been heavily fined for missing team meetings and practice. But winning cures everything, and it caught the attention of President Donald Trump.
So after the game, Cousins' agent, Mike McCartney texted him to call a number because the White House had reached out.
"I said, 'Are you serious?' Thinking it was a joke, (that) I was going to call some prank number," the Vikings quarterback told TwinCities.com. ""So. I just called him (from) the bus heading to the airport and I didn't know. I was just calling the White House and they said, 'Hold for the president.' It was just a 30-second call just saying, 'Congratulations.' And that was it. So, very out of the blue, very random."
It's not often the President of the United States wants to have a phone call with an NFL quarterback, but President Trump and Cousins have a history. Back in 2017, the two played a round of golf together.
Cousins wasn't getting married or having another kid. The POTUS just wanted to say hello and congratulate him on the Vikings win.
"When the president calls, I don't care who it is, left, right, whatever, down the middle. And if he says, 'Call me,' I'm going to give him a call and see what he wants."
— Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins
President Trump is holding a "Make America Great" rally Thursday at the Target Center in Minneapolis, but that was not the topic of conversation and the Vikings confirmed Cousins would not be attending.
Life could obviously be worse for Cousins. It's not like the Washington Redskins firing Jay Gruden this week or anything involving Antonio Brown, but perhaps the phone call is exactly what the star quarterback needs to help his team make a push for the Super Bowl this season.
