Minnesota placed quarterbacks Kirk Cousins, Kellen Mond and Nate Stanley on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the team announced Monday. Rookie receiver Myron Mitchell has also been placed on the list.

Related players: Jake Browning

Mond recently tested positive for COVID-19, and Cousins and Stanley are considered high-risk close contacts under the NFL and NFLPA's COVID-19 protocols, leading to their removal from activities Saturday. Browning is the lone QB not on the list and is expected to get the reps.

Kirk Cousins has now targeted Adam Thielen or Justin Jefferson with 51 of his 100 passes this season, and even as Stefon Diggs thrives with a 4-0 Bills team, Jefferson is quickly showing he can join Thielen as the kind of downfield option Cousins enjoyed with Diggs. Jefferson is tied for the league lead with eight catches of 20 yards or more.

The story is about how Cousins is starting to trust Jefferson. This was a situation every QB and rookie WR were faced with after COVID-19 changed training camps and eliminated preseason games. It seemed like it was only a matter of time before Cousins and Jefferson would get on the same page, and after back-to-back 100-yard games for Jefferson, the duo seems to be on their way.

ESPN's Courtney Cronin spoke to teammates of WR Justin Jefferson about his breakout game in Week 3. In the piece, QB Kirk Cousins discussed how Jefferson earned his trust on contested throws and throws into tight windows. "There were obviously a lot of shorter throws, quick-gain throws, intermediate catches that he brought in that were not easy catches," Cousins said. "Or he made an intermediate catch and was able to turn up the sideline and run with the football for another big chunk of yards."

"It was a combination of different types of plays. He was just a consistent contributor on Sunday, and that's great to see. It's great to see the talent that he brought to the offense and that it certainly wasn't too big for him. We will try to build on that as best we can as we move forward here."

Jefferson has usurped Olabisi Johnson on the depth chart and should continue to see looks Sunday against the Houston Texans, especially if Adam Thielen is covered by CB Bradley Roby for majority of the game. Jefferson is a locked-in WR3 as long as Kirk Cousins is not throwing away games.

Congrats to @KirkCousins8 on agreeing to a 2 year extension with the @Vikings

This deal has Kirk Cousins under center for Minnesota through the 2022 season and he certainly has plenty of fantasy weapons at his disposal. John Paulsen currently has Cousins as QB18 in his early rankings.

The Vikings are leaning towards sitting QB Kirk Cousins and other offensive starters in Week 17 against the Bears.

The Vikings are locked into the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs and are already likely not playing Dalvin Cook or Alexander Mattison. Minnesota will be traveling to one of Seattle, New Orleans OT Green Bay, most likely one of the first two, so they want to get some rest before hitting the road. Sean Mannion would start at quarterback if Cousins sits.

Dalvin Cook's explosive playmaking abilities are the cornerstone of the Vikings' system and have boosted quarterback Kirk Cousins' play. What Cook has accomplished in 2019 -- his first healthy season in three -- is what the Vikings envisioned when they traded up to draft him 41st overall in 2017.

Before the season, Minnesota recommitted to a running game that struggled in 2018. The Vikings ranked 30th in yards (1,493), 27th in carries (357) and 25th in yards per carry (4.18). This season, a revitalized zone-blocking scheme has produced the fifth-highest output in running back yards (4.80) and open-field yards, defined as when a team's running back earns more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage, the story added.

"It's definitely better to be in the second year with a quarterback than the first year." Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen on the development of a relationship between quarterback and wide receiver.

Related players: Stefon Diggs, Kirk Cousins

Thielen said it takes a long time to get on the same page with a quarterback and that you're always working on it. He added it's about the QB understanding what receivers are good at, like body control or a jump ball player. It could mean more efficient seasons for both Thielen and Diggs as well as Cousins, which is a scary thought as both WRs were over 1,000 yards and each caught nine TDs a year ago.

Vikings beat writer Chris Tomasson tweets, "QB Kirk Cousins: "Chad Beebe is another guy who I just think will make a major difference for our offense this year.''

Camp buzz for Chad Beebe has been strong so far and it looks as though he all but has the Vikings slot position wrapped up. Minnesota will look to run a bit more than they did last season and Beebe won't be a high-volume target, but his presence could push Adam Thielen to the outside more. Thielen thrives in the slot, so he'll still spend time there, but if Beebe works out, we could see Thielen's slot snaps scaled back, hurting his overall upside. Beebe's value is good compared to his ADP at the moment, but he'll likely need to be in a deep league to pay dividends.

After missing out on the Cleveland Browns' head coaching job, Kevin Stefanski will return to Minnesota.

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Stefanski is expected to return as the Vikings' full-time offensive coordinator, per a source informed of the situation.

Stefanski took over in Minnesota with three games left in the 2018 season after the Vikings jettisoned OC John DeFilippo. The Vikes offense got back to the ground game in the first two outings of the 36-year-old's play-calling career, compiling 320 rushing yards in back-to-back victories.

The Vikings offense, however, struggled brutally in the must-win season finale, compiling just 164 total yards in a loss to the Bears that dashed Minnesota's playoff plans.

Returning as full-time offensive coordinator, Stefanski will be tasked with unleashing an offense that vastly underperformed expectations in 2018. Despite a star running back in Dalvin Cook, two 1,000-plus-yard receivers in Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, and an $84 million quarterback in Kirk Cousins, the Vikings were an inconsistent mess this season. If the Vikings can't finally figure out their offensive line issues in 2019, it likely won't matter who is calling plays.

After firing DeFilippo, HC Mike Zimmer demanded that Stefanski establish the run game. Under DeFilippo, the Vikings averaged 40.3 pass attempts and just 21.1 rush attempts, a 65.7% pass rate. In three games under Stefanski, Minnesota averaged 27.3 pass attempts and 27.7 rush attempts for a 49.7% pass rate. The team's offensive pace slowed from 61.4 plays per game under DeFilippo to 55.0 plays per game under Stefanski. Kirk Cousins and the passing game suffered in the final three games, as his fantasy PPG dropped from 17.6 PPG to 15.8 PPG. Meanwhile, Dalvin Cook's usage spiked--he averaged 14.9 touches per game under DeFilippo and 18.0 touches per game with Stefanski calling the plays. His PPG (PPR) was 17.7 over the final three games after averaging 12.9 PPG in eight games under DeFilippo. Adam Thielen's averages (21.8 vs. 8.0) took a major hit while Stefon Diggs' production (18.4 vs. 14.5) also dipped. Keep in mind that one of the three games was at home against the Bears, who own the top defense in the league. Still, the Stefanski full-time hire looks to be good for Cook and bad for Cousins, Thielen and Diggs.