MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Quarterback Kirk Cousins will start for the Minnesota Vikings in Sunday's game at Green Bay, coach Kevin O’Connell said Friday.
The start comes only five days after Minnesota reacquired Cousins from the Las Vegas Raiders.
O'Connell said the 38-year-old Cousins impressed players and coaches with his ability to quickly readjust to the Vikings' offense.
“I cannot give him enough credit for coming in here, how he’s gone about the week, both him and the coaching staff, getting him ready to go,” O'Connell said. “Working extremely hard, using all the time we possibly can. It’s been really impressive what he’s been able to do and just the command. And just getting right back in the huddle with a lot of guys he’s played with. But certainly some guys he hasn’t, and it’s been something that everybody’s been very, very impressed by.”
Minnesota beat the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday with an agreement to send their 2027 third-round draft pick to the Raiders in exchange for Cousins.
Cousins will try to help the Vikings (6-2) end a two-game losing streak and complete a regular-season sweep of the Green Bay Packers (6-3).
Cousins tore his Achilles tendon on his last visit to Lambeau Field on Oct. 29, 2023. It was his final game with the Vikings. He played for Atlanta from 2024-25 before spending the first half of this season at Las Vegas.
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Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell speaks during an NFL football press conference, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, in Eagan, Minn., the day after quarterback Kirk Cousins was traded to the team by the Las Vegas Raiders. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins speaks during an NFL football press conference, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, in Eagan, Minn., the day after being traded to the team by the Las Vegas Raiders. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights nationwide Friday afternoon because of communications problems at regional air traffic control centers.
The FAA notice said the ground stop was being imposed “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said there is a communications issue affecting the 22 regional air traffic control centers that direct planes en route between airports nationwide. He said FAA technicians are investigating. This is the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned. Before that the last time had been after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The government has been working to overhaul the outdated technology that air traffic controllers rely on since Congress approved $12.5 billion for the project last year. Miles of old copper wires have been replaced with fiber optic lines and old radio systems are gradually being replaced at airports across the country.
But much work remains. Duffy has said that another $30 billion will be needed to complete the work, and the White House has begun lobbying Congress to approve it.
The problem appeared similar to a regional air traffic control communication outage in September that snarled hundreds of flights across the Northeast, aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo said, except this time on a nationwide scale. It may be linked to the outdated technology used by air traffic controllers.
“If you don’t have that ability, whether it’s because the old wires that they have are just run down or for whatever reason, you’ve got to stop airplanes on the ground,” said Arroyo, who is a former United Airlines pilot. “And not put them in the air where you’re going to risk not being able to communicate with them.”
Friday’s ground stop was different than the one after Sept. 11 because planes were not being told to land immediately and pilots likely were able to communicate with ground controllers at airports, Arroyo said.
This story has been corrected to show the Sept. 11 attacks were in 2001.
FILE - A Federal Aviation Administration logo is displayed in the tower at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, March 16, 2017. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
FILE - An airplane flies past the air traffic control tower at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Nov. 8, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
FILE - A Delta Airlines and United Airlines plane are seen at Denver International Airport on Nov. 6, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
