The Las Vegas Raiders knew to expect a call from the Minnesota Vikings about Kirk Cousins after the poor display of quarterbacking that Carson Wentz provided to a national audience on Monday Night Football in Week 9. But not everyone expected John Spytek to go through with this bold venture.
Trading a starting quarterback at 4-5 isn't common, after all.
But that is exactly what Spytek and the Raiders did before Tuesday's trade deadline, as The Ringer's Tom Pelissero reported that Las Vegas is sending Cousins to Minnesota, where he'll reunite with head coach Kevin O'Connell, for a third-round pick in 2027.
What a roll of the dice for Spytek.
This Raiders team is still technically in the hunt, and they just traded their veteran signal-caller, which does not happen every day in this league. Cousins, for all his limitations and missed opportunities, has actually played solidly for the Silver and Black, better than any quarterback since Derek Carr.
That said, this is absolutely the right move for the franchise. Not only will Las Vegas tear Fernando Mendoza's training wheels off a bit earlier than many anticipated, but the Raiders won't owe Cousins his $10 million roster bonus next year, and they recouped capital for a 38-year-old quarterback.
Great business by the Las Vegas front office, and a salute to Cousins for helping get this rebuild off the ground and being one of the standard-bearers for Klint Kubiak's Raiders. Cousins was a big part of establishing the culture and teaching this young team how to win.
He will surely be missed in the locker room, but that doesn't make this the wrong decision by any means.
Raiders-Vikings Kirk Cousins trade details and contract situation
Minnesota sent Las Vegas a 2027 third-rounder. For reference, at last year's deadline, the Jacksonville Jaguars sent the Raiders a fourth- and sixth-round pick in the following year's draft for Jakobi Meyers.
By trading Cousins before the third day of the 2027 league year, the Silver and Black escape without having to pay him his $10 million roster bonus for next year. The Raiders basically rented Cousins for nine games at the price of $641,000, and they'll take on a $659,000 dead cap hit for the rest of 2026.
Las Vegas practically structured Cousins' deal for this very moment, and the fact that they were able to pay him so little for what were significant contributions is just another feather in Spytek and Tom Delaney's cap. If you thought unloading Geno Smith was good, this is even better, business-wise.
Time will tell what the Raiders end up doing with the aforementioned draft picks, but the team has found some gems in the middle rounds of the draft, like Tonka Hemingway and Mike Washington Jr. This is incredible return for Las Vegas, considering Cousins is 38 years old.
Why did the Raiders trade Kirk Cousins to the Vikings?
This trade made boatloads of sense for both sides.
From the Raiders' perspective, although they are 4-5, they don't seem quite ready to compete for a playoff spot, let alone a Super Bowl. So, if they can trade away aging assets and get draft capital for them, there is certainly an argument for them to do that.
Because they have Mendoza waiting in the wings at quarterback, this is especially true. Now, Las Vegas did not just need to give Cousins away, but because they got good value for him, it became a no-brainer for Spytek and the front office.
Plus, as we just went over, trading him eliminates a $10 million roster bonus that they would have had to pay to Cousins, and it was unlikely that he was going to be on the team next year. It would have been dead money, effectively. Now, the Raiders have an extra $10 million to spend next spring.
When it comes to the Vikings, they are 6-2 but sliding in an ultra-competitive NFC North because they don't have a good quarterback on the roster. Kyler Murray has played poorly and is now injured, they traded away J.J. McCarthy, Wentz was a disaster on Monday, and Max Brosmer just isn't ready.
They have a generational defense under Brian Flores that they are wasting, and their skill position group is too good to be rendered ineffective by poor quarterback play. And it doesn't hurt that Cousins played under Kevin O'Connell in Minnesota just a few years ago.
So, the Vikings feel like they are a quarterback away, and they sought out a player who can get the job done right now because he knows their system. Giving up future capital is worth it for Minnesota GM Nolan Teasley because he feels like this is a championship-level roster. We will see if that is the case.
What's next for Raiders after trading Kirk Cousins to the Vikings?
Well, first of all, Mendoza will need to get ready to face the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. It would be crazy for the Raiders to continue their plan of sitting Mendoza so that he can learn, when Aidan O'Connell is now the alternative instead of Cousins. So, the rookie should get his first career start.
This is undoubtedly an exciting time for the fanbase and those in the building, as the No. 1 pick has been a beacon of hope for almost a year now. And instead of hypothesizing what he can or may be able to do, Raider Nation will actually get to see their young stud for the rest of the year, barring injury.
Mendoza may not have the experience that Cousins does, and some drop-offs in certain facets of the game would be normal in the short term. But Mendoza is also way more mobile than Cousins and has a bigger arm, so he can open up the deep ball and more rollouts and boots for the offense.
In terms of the roster math, Las Vegas will need to sign a free agent or activate someone from the practice squad or injured reserve to get the team back to 53 players. Tim Keenan III, who has been elevated the last three weeks, feels like a safe bet if the Raiders go the internal route.
They may also want to add a third quarterback as an emergency option on game day, so they'd have to look externally for that, with no quarterbacks currently on the practice squad. But none of that is as important as the Cousins and Mendoza of it all.
Folks - the Mendoza era is here. This is what Raider Nation has been waiting for since April, and even months before that.
To Cousins - Thank you. Once a Raider, always a Raider.
To Fernando - The time is now!
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