The Vikings' social justice committee, including linebacker Eric Kendricks, linebacker Anthony Barr, running back Ameer Abdullah and safety Anthony Harris, met during the players' day off Tuesday to discuss how to attract attention to social justice causes on game days. Players have "a couple things on the docket" and have yet to decide, Kendricks said.
"We discussed that for a while, the social justice committee, that is," he said. "We'll be developing that as we get to Sunday. But yeah, the conversation is alive. I don't want to say we're going to do one thing, but we have a couple things on the docket. We'll see."
Cousins' next step?
Quarterback Kirk Cousins knows wins are the primary stat for quarterbacks, and his boss had a clear answer when asked about the quarterback's next step entering his third Vikings season. Coach Mike Zimmer would like to see more of what Cousins did in overtime of the playoff upset at New Orleans last season.
"The biggest thing for Kirk is to continue the things that he's done well and then, when we get to the end of ballgames, to go win," Zimmer said. "That's what everybody wants out of the quarterback, is to go win games in the fourth quarter."
2020 captains named
The Vikings designated captains for the 2020 season, including safety Harrison Smith and running back Dalvin Cook as first-time season-long captains under Zimmer. They're joined by tight end Kyle Rudolph (four times), left tackle Riley Reiff (three), quarterback Kirk Cousins (three) and linebacker Anthony Barr (three).
McLaughlin 'protected'
NFL teams this season can "protect" up to four practice squad players per week from being signed to another team's roster, and the Vikings on Wednesday made such a designation with newly signed kicker Chase McLaughlin. He's untouchable to other teams through Sunday's game.
Star Tribune writer Mark Craig contributed to this report.
