Vikings' Cousins: Playing in empty stadiums would be 'refreshing'

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The NFL is preparing to start its 2020 season as scheduled, and it's possible teams could be playing without fans in attendance due to the coronavirus pandemic.

One player who won't be protesting that move, should it happen, is Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.

"Honestly, we practice every day in an empty grass area and pump in fake crowd noise for away games," Cousins said Tuesday on a conference call, according to ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "But more often than not, you're used to it. OTA practices don't have a lot of pomp and circumstance to them.

"So honestly, to go out and just play the game would kind of be refreshing, a breath of fresh air, to just let us know that we don't have to have all the smoke and the fire. We can just play football. So as long as we're playing the game, I won't have a lot of complaints, and hopefully if it's still not returned to normal, we can find a way to make it work."

Jeff Pash, the NFL's general counsel, said earlier this month the league is focusing on playing a full 16-game regular season in front of fans.

However, Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL's chief medical officer, suggests that widespread COVID-19 testing needs to be available before the league could consider reopening.

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