The Las Vegas Raiders have been one of the bigger surprises across the NFL this season, as they have posted a 4-4 record through their first eight games of the year. Even though they used the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the Raiders have turned to Kirk Cousins as their starting quarterback, and the results have been great.
With Cousins playing so well, teams have been checking in to see if Las Vegas would be interested in trading him and turning over the starting gig to Mendoza. While that train of thought would make sense, one insider provided a definitive update on the trade rumors that have begun to swirl around Cousins as of late.
Raiders Won’t Be Trading Kirk Cousins Anytime Soon
Las Vegas signed Cousins in free agency to come in and act as its bridge to Mendoza at quarterback. Expectations weren’t necessarily high for Cousins, but he’s looked like the Pro Bowl passer he once was earlier in his career. Through eight games, Cousins has completed 180 of his 283 pass attempts for 2,124 yards, 19 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Simply put, he’s been one of the best quarterbacks in the league so far this year.
With Cousins playing so well, the Raiders have had no reason to turn things over to Mendoza just yet. At some point, the team is obviously going to want to see what it has in Mendoza, but nobody knows when that is going to come. Ahead of the trade deadline, some folks have wondered if the front office could capitalize on Cousins’ play and flip him to a quarterback-needy team so that it can turn things over to Mendoza.
Publicly, the Raiders have remained committed to Cousins, but he’s playing well enough that they could actually get a pretty strong return for him if they wanted to trade him. However, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter of ESPN, it doesn’t sound like the team has any interest in moving on from Cousins, despite the aforementioned circumstances they are dealing with.
The Raiders have not taken any calls about Kirk Cousins, and they do not plan to trade Kirk Cousins,” Schefter said (while banging out some pushups) on “Sunday NFL Countdown.
Are the Raiders Making a Mistake by Not Trading Kirk Cousins?
The Raiders are clearly ahead of schedule when it comes to their ongoing rebuild, but they still have a lot of work to do before they reemerge as a de facto playoff contender. You can make an argument that trading Cousins would help expedite that rebuild, but the team has a good thing going with him right now. Is it really worth forcing a trade for him just to get Mendoza on the field?
All the time Mendoza is spending behind the scenes, watching Cousins play while soaking up information from his coaching staff, is surely benefiting him. There’s no doubt his time will come, but the more time he spends developing out of the public eye, the better. The logic for dealing Cousins certainly makes sense, but Las Vegas is making the right move by deciding to hold onto him past the deadline.
Raiders Receive Definitive Update on Kirk Cousins Trade Rumors From Insider