When the Las Vegas Raiders signed Kirk Cousins late last week, it was difficult to say that anyone was surprised. Even though the Silver and Black own the No. 1 pick, which they'll almost certainly use on Fernando Mendoza, the leadership duo of John Spytek and Klint Kubiak wanted a veteran.
Cousins was the obvious choice, given his history with Kubiak and his general shoulder-rubbing with the Shanahan/Kubiak/McVay offense. And when he became available just five days after Kubiak was formally hired by the Raiders, it didn't take long for fans to connect the dots.
But then things were at a stalemate for a while. Las Vegas went through the first few waves of free agency and not so much as a report came out that the two sides were engaging in negotiations. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero just confirmed, however, that Cousins was always going to become a Raider.
Tom Pelissero reveals Las Vegas Raiders wanted Kirk Cousins all offseason
Many thought that Cousins could see Las Vegas as a backup plan, and that he'd rather wait it out until after the draft or later into the offseason to find a spot where he could be a surefire Day 1 starter and perhaps have a future. But Pelissero confirmed on The Rich Eisen Show that that wasn't the case.
"The Raiders were pursuing Kirk Cousins ever since the Falcons released him," Pelissero noted. "The issue that they had to work through was Kirk Cousins was due $10 million fully guaranteed in 2026. Even if he was sitting on the couch, he was not going to play, in his mind, for free, which means that he was going to need to make more than that $10 million if he was going to play somewhere. The Raiders and Cousins' agent, Mike McCartney, came up with a pretty unique structure to work around that issue."
It has been well-documented that the Silver and Black found a loophole of sorts to appease Cousins and his camp while also fitting him under the salary cap in a team-friendly way. But this financial finagling wasn't the only reason they wanted Cousins; it was about experience and familiarity.
"Kirk Cousins had one of his best seasons playing with Klint Kubak as his offensive coordinator in Minnesota," Pelissero said. "It's where Cousins won his first playoff game over the Saints. They were in the game the following week against the 49ers before they kind of ran out of gas. Cousins has played well in this system."
And while that was some number of years ago, and the circumstances have certainly changed for both parties, Pelissero believes that Cousins could even be a good quarterback for several years for the Raiders. The stipulations of the contract leave Cousins' future quite open-ended.
"He's 37. He played a lot better once he got his opportunity last year than he had coming right off the Achilles back in his first season with the Falcons in 2024. So, let's say, hypothetically, Cousins plays really well. Of course, the Raiders have the number one pick. We all expect them to draft Fernando Mendoza, but Kubak has said himself a couple of days ago at the league meeting, in a perfect world, you'd like the rookie to come in and sit behind, this is Klint's words, 'a grown adult' and see how he runs things before getting his opportunity," Pelissero mentioned. "Let's say Kirk plays so well, they don't need to go to Mendoza at all in 2026. There is a scenario here where Cousins plays really well and all of a sudden now you've got a two-year $80 million deal or two for ($90 million) prior to the third day of the league year that maybe could be tradable for the Raiders. They have an exclusive negotiating window to maybe try to work out a restructure. They also have the option of a, 'Hey, you played really well, but it's Fernando's time. Let's move on from you.' There is a scenario where they could trade Cousins."
Now, surely, Las Vegas didn't put all their eggs into the Cousins basket. With Mendoza soon coming, that would be a bit irresponsible. But it sounds like, for weeks now, the Raiders were honing in on Cousins, and the timing of the signing had nothing to do with Mendoza's Pro Day, as some theorized.
"Everything that Kirk Cousins, from my understanding, was told behind the scenes. This was not a recent thing. This was going on for several weeks now," Pelissero said. "What this does is this gives them a fallback option."
The Raiders were always going to be prepared for every scenario. But it sounds like they were high on Cousins throughout the process, and the exact parameters of the deal just needed to be ironed out between the two sides.
Pelissero left Raider Nation with a sentiment that say it all about how the Cousins signing affects Mendoza and the quarterback room in Las Vegas. Just because the front office has been steadfast in their desire for a veteran, Cousins, in particular, doesn't mean Mendoza is out of the running.
"The most likely scenario is Kirk Cousins is the Raiders' quarterback in week one. His play and the progression of Fernando Mendoza will determine exactly how long that lasts."