The Minnesota Vikings traded for QB Kirk Cousins on Tuesday around an hour and a half before the deadline.
Cousins will now have his second stint in Minnesota, with both indirectly treating him as if he’s the “missing piece.” He joins a 6-2 team that could argue to rightfully be 8-0 had they gotten average QB play. Alas, they haven’t, and they’ve dropped back-to-back contests.
Now, the Vikings have a true fighting chance at bringing the Twin Cities a Lombardi Trophy. All they had to pay was their own 2027 third-round selection.
However, they came quite close to that not being the reality.
Vikings Were “Rebuffed” By Raiders Right Before Cousins Trade Terms Were Agreed Upon
Per ESPN’s Dan Graziano, the Raiders didn’t want to play ball with the Vikings on Cousins at first.
“As recently as last weekend, there were people in that organization who wanted to stick to the plan — to keep Cousins past the trade deadline and hold off on playing Mendoza a few more weeks, maybe even until after their Week 13 bye. The Vikings called the Raiders about Cousins prior to last weekend, but it wasn’t until after Sunday that they felt there was a chance Vegas would trade him.”
Truly, the Raiders didn’t need to trade Cousins, but it made sense for their long-term vision. Mendoza is obviously ready to go if they ended up dealing Cousins in the end. Now, Las Vegas nets a third-round selection, gave Mendoza the perfect mentor for seven months, and doesn’t have to pay Cousins’ guaranteed $10 million bonus on the third league day of the 2027 season.
Kirk Cousins Will Start on Sunday Against Green Bay
Only five days after his return to the Vikings, Cousins will be starting on Sunday against the Packers.
The Vikings already hold an advantage over Green Bay, having defeated them in Week 1 in Minneapolis. Minnesota rolls into the contest with a record of 6-2, and Green Bay sits at 6-3. Should the Vikings walk off of Lambeau with a loss, they will fall to last place in the NFC North. With a win and a Lions loss, Minnesota reclaims their division lead after less than a week off.
In theory, the Vikings’ offense will elevate to at least an “average” level with Cousins at the helm. The Kyler Murray experiment has been a complete and utter failure, and Wentz’ play on Monday night was bad enough for fans to never want to see him take the field again.
There’s a revived hope in Minnesota, and it came along with Kirk Cousins. If he can be at least 75% of the QB he’s been in 2026, then the Vikings could go far.
Vikings Trade For QB Kirk Cousins Close To Falling Through Before Critical Moment