The Las Vegas Raiders decided to look to the future at the trade deadline and traded away starting quarterback Kirk Cousins to the Minnesota Vikings for a third-round pick. Following that news, the team announced that rookie No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza will be elevated to the starting quarterback role.
While Cousins has played well this season, it was just a matter of time before Mendoza got to start. However, the timing isn’t ideal. The Raiders’ next two games are against the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos, which are two defenses that are top 10 in points allowed this season.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith was not a fan of the decision to pivot to Mendoza now.
“I don’t like this for the Raiders,” Smith said on “First Take.” “I don’t agree with this move at all. … Look, Mendoza’s the future … you’re talking about him going up against Seattle and Denver in his first two starts. Talk about expected demoralization. You should anticipate it’s going to be a really, really, really rough outing.”
General manager John Spytek has been questioned for only getting a third-round pick for Cousins when many believe he could’ve gotten more. Smith ripped Spytek for not getting a better deal.
“Spytek, I like him too, and I think that he understands what he’s doing,” Smith said. “The flip side to it, however, is I think that Kirk Cousins, because of the way he was playing, was worth more than a third-round pick.”
Raiders Didn’t Want to Trade Cousins
The Cousins trade was purely Vikings-driven. The Raiders were happy to keep the veteran and keep him as the starter until they wanted to pivot to Mendoza.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Mendoza’s growth helped make the Raiders more comfortable making a deal.
“No one in Vegas was looking to move Cousins,” Breer wrote. “Making the playoffs for the first time in five years would be great for Kubiak’s program, of course, and a great reward for loyal veterans like Maxx Crosby and Kolton Miller, and Cousins would certainly help give those guys the best chance to chase that. But increasingly, it looked like Mendoza could, too.”
Vikings Initially Offered Fifth-Round Pick
Spytek keeps getting criticized for not getting more in the Cousins trade, but it’s more likely that the Vikings weren’t willing to go higher. Breer broke down how negotiations went.
“The Vikings initially put a fifth-rounder on the table that could become a third,” Breer wrote. “The Raiders balked, wanting a hard third-rounder, knowing Minnesota had its own and one it acquired from the Eagles for Jonathan Greenard. The GMs traded calls and texts.
“The Vikings moved toward Vegas, knowing the opportunity that was in front of them with the defense they had, and the Raiders agreed to take Minnesota’s slotted third-rounder, rather than Philly’s pick, which figures to be the higher of the two. The Vikings agreed to take on the $10 million roster bonus Cousins is due in March. The return for the Raiders, in the end, wound up being the second-highest for a quarterback in-season over the past decade—with only the Patriots having gotten more for Jimmy Garoppolo in 2017.”
John Spytek Ripped By Stephen A. Smith For Kirk Cousins Trade