On Nov. 13, the Minnesota Vikings announced that Kirk Cousins will start against the Green Bay Packers in their Week 10 matchup on Nov. 15. Minnesota is hoping that the veteran QB can give the production under center that can get them to the playoffs.
Cousins has also played well this 2026 NFL season during his time with the Las Vegas Raiders. The Vikings QB has played 364 pass snaps, leading to a 77.1 overall PFF grade.
Moreover, he has thrown for 2,340 yards and 20 touchdowns against eight interceptions. He has also recorded 12 big-time throws and 10 turnover-worthy plays.
Despite his production this season and the Vikings getting inconsistent production from the QB position, SiriusXM NFL Radio’s Damon Amendolara questions whether Cousins returning to Minnesota is actually going to work, given that the team didn’t win anything in his first stint.
“Even though Kirk Cousins has been good this year, we have seen this movie before,” Amendolara said in a Nov. 13 video from “The Russini Report.” “Get out your Fortnite joysticks and play a little Drake because it’s 2018 again. We’re just going to run back the idea that Kirk Cousins in Minnesota is the final piece of the puzzle for a Super Bowl run.
“We have already done this eight years ago, and it did not end well. Am I supposed to believe suddenly that the Vikings with Kirk Cousins are now a real contender? I can’t buy it. I just feel like if we’re just bringing back Cousins in Minnesota as the final piece of the puzzle, it’s going to end the same exact way.”
What People Around NFL Are Saying About Kirk Cousins Move
Furthermore, NFL Network’s Judy Battista shared what people around the league are saying about Cousins returning to Minnesota, and this is a more positive outlook for what the veteran will bring to the Vikings.
“Talking to folks around the league when this trade happened, they said just look at what Kirk Cousins was doing with the Raiders,” Battista said in a Nov. 13 video from NFL Network. “He’s going to have no real transition issues going to the Vikings. He knows the offense. He knows the play caller; he knows a lot of the weapons [and] he threw 20 touchdown passes with the Raiders.
“That was second in the league with much less weaponry around him, much lower-caliber wide receiver play than he’s going to experience with the Vikings. Almost no running game with the Raiders. He will have that, and of course, he will have the benefit of playing with an extraordinary defense in Minnesota, which they did not have in Las Vegas. All of those things will benefit him and ease his transition even more.”
KOC Gives Kirk Cousins Update Before Packers Game
Meanwhile, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell shared an update on how the coaching staff is preparing Cousins for this Week 10 game against the Green Bay Packers.
“He believes wholeheartedly in what we do and his role in moving the team,” O’Connell told reporters on Nov. 13. “So really, it’s about getting the plan working with him and getting him the plan in real time, in many ways, play by play, situation by situation, and then letting him digest it and getting back together and talking through things post-install, post-reps in practice.
“We’ll spend some time together [on Nov. 13] and use every moment we have up until the game. But I’m really looking forward to seeing him play. Though it’s something we’ve always known about him, the way he threw the football this week was a really cool thing to see.”
Vikings Hit With Reality Check Amid Kirk Cousins QB1 Decision