Vikings Trade 2027 Third-Round Pick to Raiders for QB Kirk Cousins
Minnesota sends a 2027 third to Las Vegas for the four-time Pro Bowl quarterback, reuniting him with Kevin O'Connell after Monday night's 23-6 loss to the Bills
The Vikings are bringing Kirk Cousins back Tuesday, acquiring the four-time Pro Bowl quarterback from the Raiders for a 2027 third-round pick, The Ringer's Tom Pelissero first reported the full package.
Blockbuster! The Raiders are trading four-time Pro Bowl QB Kirk Cousins to the Vikings for their 2027 third-round pick, sources tell @ringer @netflixsports. Cousins returns to Minnesota for the playoff push, while Las Vegas turns to No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza.View on X →
Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero): Blockbuster! The Raiders are trading four-time Pro Bowl QB Kirk Cousins to the Vikings for their 2027 third-round pick, sources tell @ringer @netflixsports. Cousins returns to Minnesota for the playoff push, while Las Vegas turns to No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza.
The deal addresses a clear need in Minnesota. The Vikings are 6-2 but have scored 16 or fewer points in five of eight games, including a 23-6 Monday night loss to the Bills in which Carson Wentz, starting with Kyler Murray week-to-week with a hamstring injury, completed 8 of 25 passes for 81 yards and two interceptions. Minnesota had already traded J.J. McCarthy to the Giants on Sept. 28. Cousins, who started for the Vikings from 2018 to 2023, returns to a playoff race and to head coach Kevin O'Connell, who led the team in Cousins' final two seasons there. If he's ready for Week 10, his first game back would come Sunday at Green Bay, the same Lambeau Field setting as his last start as a Viking, when he tore his Achilles on Oct. 29, 2023.
Cousins, 38, has started all nine games for Las Vegas this season, completing 64.1 percent of his passes for 2,340 yards, 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He signed a one-year deal in the offseason as a bridge to No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza. Minnesota takes on his minimum base salary for the rest of this season and a $10 million guaranteed roster bonus due next March.
The move hands the Raiders' offense to Mendoza, whose only appearance came in a Week 5 loss to the Patriots, when he completed 6 of 8 passes for 48 yards. Las Vegas is 4-5 and still on the fringes of the AFC playoff race. As recently as Sunday, the Raiders had received no trade inquiries for Cousins and were not looking to deal him. Mendoza's first two starts will come against the Seahawks and Broncos, beginning with Sunday's home game against Seattle.