Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins ended up signing with the organization last offseason. However, he had another team in mind as he wanted to reunite with one of his former coaches. He wanted to choose between the Raiders and head coach Klint Kubiak, or Kevin O’Connell. This was reported by Casino.com’s Jason La Canfora on Monday afternoon.
Cousins ended up taking a deal with the Raiders, a deal that has quite the loophole attached. Before he was able to sign the deal, however, he still had the Vikings in the back of his mind as he was looking for a place to call home. La Canfora expanded on this in his report.
Despite a star-crossed stint in Atlanta marked by an Achilles injury and a poor scheme fit, Cousins remained a hot commodity as a bridge quarterback. According to league sources privy to his 2026 negotiations, Cousins was intent on reuniting with one of the two top offensive minds from his last playoff season in Minnesota: Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell or new Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak.
Cousins Had Complicated History With Vikings
Cousins had quite the history with the Vikings. He played six seasons for the organization from 2018-2023. He recorded a 50-37-1 regular-season record. Those numbers are certainly respectable. However, he failed to deliver any playoff wins to the organization.
His initial start with the Minnesota Vikings was of historic proportions. He signed a three-year $84 million contract as an unrestricted free agent in 2019. It was the first multi-year 100% fully guaranteed contract in NFL history. This also made him the league’s highest-paid player at the time of signing, per NFL.com
Cousins had a decent first season. However, he missed the playoffs after the Vikings lost to the Chicago Bears in Week 17. The quarterback finished with 4,290 yards and 30 touchdowns on the year.
He had some other solid moments in Minnesota as well. The 2019 Wild Card upset over the New Orleans Saints was one of the biggest moments in Vikings history. The team went 10-6 that year. Cousins also had a solid year statistically, recording 3,603 passing yards and 26 touchdowns.
His next winning season would not come until 2022. That year, he threw for 4,547 yards and 29 touchdowns. Unfortunately, the Vikings were not able to engineer playoff success as they were upset at home by the New York Giants. The theme of playoff disappointment would be pertinent not only for Cousins but for the Vikings organization.
The quarterback officially left the Vikings for the Atlanta Falcons in March 2024. Although he did have success to a degree, it was not the level of success that many Vikings fans were hoping for.
It is certainly interesting to hear about Cousins potentially reuniting with O’Connell. One has to wonder if Cousins returning would ultimately have been positive for the Vikings. At the moment, Kyler Murray and J. J. McCarthy are battling it out for the starting job. Although McCarthy had success last year, the presence of Cousins would probably make any quarterback battle a bit more one-sided. As for now, the team is still trying to find its quarterback.
At the very least, Cousins would have a chance to end the potential playoff drought for Minnesota after coming so close in previous seasons. It would certainly be quite the return for Cousins, at a place that was so polarizing in terms of career achievement and overall team success. It would’ve been fun to see him in a Vikings uniform one final time. One has to wonder how it would’ve turned out and if he would’ve been able to elevate the Vikings quarterback room to any sort of degree.
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