The Minnesota Vikings don’t possess the best chances to end up with Kirk Cousins on their roster after the NFL trade deadline, but they are the favorites to reunite with the four-time Pro Bowler if he happens to change teams.
Betway, a British-based gambling website, released odds on Tuesday morning, November 10 regarding Cousins’ next team. At that point, the website favored the 38-year-0ld quarterback to remain with the Las Vegas Raiders (minus-182). However, he was also plus-150 to wind up back in the purple and gold, which translates into a 40 percent implied probability that he finishes this season in Minnesota.
Those are incredibly high odds given any perspective trade, simply because of the number of factors that can impact whether a deal ultimately gets done. In this case, the Raiders are 4-5 and playing well with little urgency to move Cousins, which is likely to translate into a higher cost for the quarterback if the Vikings pursue him aggressively.
Vikings Have Fumbled QB Situation in Nolan Teasley’s First Season as General Manager
NFL analysts pretty much everywhere are likely to criticize Minnesota heavily if it has to forfeit a Day 2 draft asset to secure a QB going on 40 years old for a half-season rental, particularly when the team could have probably signed him for something similar to the $11 million the Raiders paid Cousins in 2026 had the Vikings just gone after him during the offseason and committed to him as their opening-day starter.
But Minnesota made a bet on Kyler Murray instead, which hasn’t worked out. And Carson Wentz proved on “Monday Night Football” that he is not a safe enough alternative. Thus, after trading JJ McCarthy to the New York Giants for a fifth-round pick in September in what now looks clearly like an ill-advised move on behalf of first-year GM Nolan Teasley, the Vikings are stuck.
The vibes in Minneapolis aren’t what they were just two short weeks ago, when the Vikings were the last undefeated team in the league. The two losses since have come against a couple of the NFL’s best offenses in Detroit and Buffalo, and Minnesota’s defense has shown up in both games.
The Vikings have afforded just 21 points per outing to those two offenses. The Lions were averaging 30.67 points per game before they hosted Minnesota two weeks back, while the Bills were putting up 33.3 points per contest before stepping onto U.S. Bank Field on Monday night.
The defense is simply too good, as is the special teams unit, for Minnesota not to do something. But every team in the NFL knows that, which means the Vikings will pay a premium for any quarterback who actually has a legitimate chance to impact their championship aspirations.
Kirk Cousins Playing Great Football for Raiders Across 9 Starts
Cousins has played well beyond expectations this season, which adds to the difficulty Minnesota will likely find in acquiring him.
He has completed 64.1 percent of his passes for 2,340 yards, 20 TDs and eight INTs across nine starts on a team that doesn’t have a wide receiver anywhere near as talented as Jordan Addison, let alone Justin Jefferson — though the Raiders do have two great tight ends, including arguably the best in the NFL in Brock Bowers.
The one element that the Vikings have going for them regarding a Cousins trade is that Betway did not list another team as a likely trade partner for the Raiders QB beyond Minnesota.
That isn’t because another franchise or two out there wouldn’t like him or couldn’t use him, but more so because his play in Las Vegas, and the Raiders subsequent success, translates into too high of a trade cost for a veteran QB rental. The cost of the return package just doesn’t make sense for any team that isn’t both a contender and also in desperate need of an upgrade under center.
Minnesota is the only franchise in the NFL that truly fits that bill with just four hours remaining until the trade deadline passes.
Vikings Get Good Kirk Cousins Trade News Ahead of NFL Deadline