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"I'm Very Optimistic, Excited": Kirk Cousins Previews Vikings Season Ahead Of First Game

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minnesota Vikings will play their first preseason game Saturday in Denver. It will be the first of many evaluations by Viking fans on the new quarterback Kirk Cousins.

He was at Great Wolf Lodge in Bloomington Sunday climbing the rock wall, but he sat down with WCCO to talk about his No. 1 sport: football.

"I'm very optimistic, excited," Cousins said. "I feel really good about the locker room, the coaching staff, the system. There's a proven plan in place that we now just have to execute."

And now he's had a chance to study the plan for a little bit. He says the organization's continuity makes the culture around the team healthy.

"The message is consistent, there's not a lot of change, and we can really understand what our bosses want so we can get better and better at delivering it."

Cousins says he feel the pressure of his new $84 million contract, but it's important to set that fact aside and go to work.

"If you start to make it about you and not about the team it becomes an obsession as opposed to a motivating factor. I think to this point I know my routine, I know my approach. And I know that it's worked and it's helped me overcome the odds."

And what is the most asked question by Vikings to their new quarterback so far?

"'When are we gonna win a Super Bowl?' And rightfully so. They've been waiting a long time."

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