Aidan O'Connell's season is likely over after injuring his knee in Week 14 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This will be the second starting quarterback the Las Vegas Raiders are losing for the season.
In the grand scheme of things, it shouldn't affect the franchise too much. They're already eliminated from the playoffs and are widely expected to add a quarterback in the offseason.
The Raiders currently hold the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, per Tankathon, so they could be in a position to take the top quarterback. However, some believe the team could prefer to go after a veteran.
The Atlanta Falcons' plans with Kirk Cousins haven't gone according to plays. The team drafted Michael Penix with a top-10 pick less than a year ago and it doesn't make sense to keep him on the bench if Cousins isn't playing well.
There's not much Atlanta can do this season but there's speculation that they'll trade him in the offseason. This has led to suggestions that the Raiders could add Cousins in the offseason.
This would make absolutely no sense. Cousins is 36 years old and suffered a torn Achilles last season. He's also thrown 17 touchdowns to 15 interceptions, which isn't very good. He also has a $180 million contract.
There is no way that Tom Telesco is going to trade draft picks to land a player like that. Perhaps if the Falcons decided to cut Cousins and eat his dead cap hit, then perhaps the Raiders could add him as a bridge quarterback. Other than that, there is no chance they'd make this move.
Las Vegas is going to build around a rookie quarterback unless they win their last four games and don't end with a top-10 pick. Even then, Cousins wouldn't make much sense for the Raiders. It's time to find a long-term solution at the game's most important position.