The Minnesota Vikings have asked too much of their defense all season, which finally caught up to the team in Week 8 in the form of their first loss of the campaign. That outcome, in turn, led to calls for Kyler Murray’s benching and an exploration of the QB trade market ahead of the NFL deadline on November 10.
There aren’t many quarterbacks likely to come available in the next week-plus, though one player who might is Kirk Cousins of the Las Vegas Raiders. He has started eight games for the team this season while playing on a one-year contract worth just over $11 million.
However, Cousins is nothing more than a placeholder in the desert until the Raiders decide to transition to No. 1 overall pick and rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Las Vegas had lost four consecutive contests before eking out a win over the New York Jets on Sunday, November 1 by a score of 38-33.
There is little reason for the Raiders not to deal Cousins, except for the fact that Las Vegas faces a tough three-game stretch over the next three weeks, including contests against the San Francisco 49ers on the road, Seattle Seahawks at home and Denver Broncos on the road.
However, Minnesota could potentially convince the Raiders to make a deal if the Vikings offer something as strong a fifth-round pick for Cousins, which would make sense after they lost to Detroit on Sunday.
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Ted Nguyen of The Athletic suggested on October 27 that the Vikings give Murray a couple more games to get himself right before making a move.
“In-season quarterback trades rarely work out,” Nguyen wrote. “If the Vikings are really desperate to make a move closer to the deadline, they should consider trading for Cousins. He’s playing the best we’ve seen in years and came into this week tied for the most touchdown passes in the league. Obviously, he’s familiar with O’Connell’s system. If the Raiders keep losing and they want to go to Mendoza, they might be open to trading Cousins.”
Cousins was 3-4 and had completed 62.6 percent of his passes for 1,877 yards, 16 TDs and five INTs through seven games. He added 247 more yards and another three TD passes on Sunday, as the Raiders moved to .500 on the year.
Cousins, a four-time Pro Bowler who earned those honors three times as a member of the Vikings, played in Minnesota for six years between 2018-23 and is highly familiar with the concepts central to head coach Kevin O’Connell’s offense.
Vikings Urged to Bench Kyler Murray After Struggling Against NFL-Worst Lions Defense
Meanwhile, Murray connected on 17-of-29 passes for 210 yards, two TDs and one INT in Minnesota’s loss at Detroit. He also rushed the football four times for 35 yards and took three sacks.
Murray’s stat line, which wasn’t overly impressive at the day’s end, improved significantly because of one drive early in the fourth quarter during which he hit Jordan Addison on a 51-yard pass and threw a TD to tight end TJ Hockenson a couple of plays later.
Before that, however, multiple seasoned media members who spend all their time around this Minnesota team were unusually specific in their criticisms of Murray and the Vikings’ offense against what was the league’s last-rated defense in Detroit heading into Week 8.
“I know Carson Wentz is prone to miscues, but the Vikings should make the change for the second half,” Judd Zulgad of SKOR North wrote on X. “Kyler just can’t operate this car and this defense deserves a show of support. Defense has been phenomenal against a really good offense.”
Alec Lewis of The Athletic made similar comments on social media.
“Play resumed. Vikings went for it on 4th. Lions heated them up,” Lewis wrote. “Kyler tossed it up and incomplete. One of the worst offensive performances we’ve seen, which is saying a lot.”
Vikings Trade Pitch Benches Kyler Murray, Reunites Team With 4-Time Pro Bowler