Getty Tom Telesco (left) and Antonio Pierce could oversee a Raiders Kirk Cousins pursuit.
The Las Vegas Raiders have made their moves here in the offseason, keeping coach Antonio Pierce to oversee things on the field and bringing in general manager Tom Telesco to run the ship in the front office. But there are many questions remaining, especially on the offensive side of the ball, and the biggest is at quarterback. There could be an easy answer lingering out there, though: free-agent Kirk Cousins.
No matter how the team sees the long-term picture, whether it is allowing Aidan O’Connell to develop after an up-and-down rookie year or drafting a new signal-caller with the No. 13 pick, the Raiders need to be competitive in the short term. The defense is too good and the team’s offensive star—31-year-old wide receiver Davante Adams—needs to know that the Raiders have a chance at the Super Bowl next season or he could agitate for a trade.
Enter Cousins. At Pro Football Focus, they outlined the future destinations of free-agent quarterbacks, and the Raiders are on Cousins’ list. As PFF wrote in looking at Cousins destinations:
“The Raiders also sit at the No. 13 overall pick, and veteran Jimmy Garoppolo appears to be on the way out after getting benched for rookie Aidan O’Connell. If new head coach Antonio Pierce wants to make Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers happy, perhaps he looks to make a splash.”
Raiders Would Make Sense for Kirk Cousins
Cousins would be a splash. He only played eight games last year before tearing his Achilles tendon, a concerning injury for a player who will turn 36 in August. But they were eight very impressive games, playing for a team many assumed would be heading into rebuilding mode. Minnesota went 4-4 with Cousins, and he threw for an average of 291.4 yards with a QB rating of 103.8, third in the NFL.
He threw for 18 touchdowns and just five interceptions on the year. He had a grade of 86.1 at PFF, which was ninth among the league’s 38 graded quarterbacks.
For a Raiders team that got better and better defensively as the year went on last season, adding an offensive weapon like Cousins could push them into the ranks of AFC contenders next season.
Aidan O’Connell as Backup QB?
The signing of Cousins would allow O’Connell to move to a backup role and allow the Raiders to focus elsewhere with their first-round pick—perhaps to the offensive line, which could use some help. There are a handful of top-flight blocking prospects who should be available when the Raiders pick.
There will be competition for Cousins, who is projected by PFF to get a two-year, $60 million contract. That sort of short-term commitment should sit well with the Raiders, who have cycled through three quarterbacks—Derek Carr, Jimmy Garoppolo and O’Connell—in two years.
It would be more difficult on the Raiders if Cousins can drum up a long-term deal, as predicted by the model at Spotrac. There, Cousins is projected to reap a three-year, $118 million contract.
As PFF wrote of Cousins: “An ill-timed torn Achilles derailed another strong season from Cousins, and he looked set to have a host of suitors in free agency, as he did back in 2018. Cousins still has the requisite arm strength to throw to all levels of the field and has been as accurate as ever in recent seasons.”