Vikings Reacquire Kirk Cousins From Raiders for 2027 Pick

The Minnesota Vikings acquired quarterback Kirk Cousins from the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick, pending a physical the four-time Pro Bowl veteran must pass before the trade is finalized, the team said. The move was announced before the NFL’s 4 p.m. ET trade deadline.

The deal gives the 6-2 Vikings an immediate option to stabilize an offense that has lagged behind a top-ranked scoring defense, while the 4-5 Raiders are expected to turn to No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza as soon as Sunday against the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks. Mendoza has already appeared once this season; any first start would come against the titleholders, not as an NFL debut.

What did the Vikings give up, and is the trade official?

Minnesota sent a 2027 third-round draft pick to Las Vegas to re-acquire Kirk Cousins. The Vikings announced the agreement on Tuesday before the 4 p.m. ET trade deadline, with the transaction contingent on Cousins passing a physical with the Vikings (Vikings.com; USA Today). NFL.com noted the deal had been reported earlier in the day by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo and ESPN’s Adam Schefter before Minnesota’s announcement (NFL.com).

Because the move is pending a physical, Cousins is not yet on the active roster and has not officially been named the Week 10 starter. NFL.com wrote that if he is ready to play this week, a potential return could come at Lambeau Field against the Packers; OutKick reported Minnesota made the move with the goal of elevating him quickly, but that remains an expectation, not a depth-chart declaration (NFL.com, OutKick).

Why are the Vikings bringing Cousins back now?

Minnesota sits at 6-2 with a defense that leads the NFL in points allowed, but the offense has struggled. The unit ranks 27th in points and 31st in both total offense and passing offense through eight games, with five outings of 16 points or fewer, including each of the past three (NFL.com). USA Today, citing the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, placed the Vikings 30th in offensive EPA per play and credited coordinator Brian Flores for building a championship-caliber defense on the other side of the ball (USA Today).

The recent slide was underscored Monday night, when the Vikings lost 23-6 to the Buffalo Bills in Minneapolis. Starting in place of Kyler Murray, Carson Wentz completed 8 of 25 passes for 81 yards with two interceptions; UPI also reported he lost a fumble (Vikings.com; USA Today; UPI). USA Today summarized Wentz’s 2026 body of work as a 48.4% completion rate for 357 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions over significant time in three games, with Minnesota scoring 15 total points in his two starts. Murray, signed this offseason, has gone 5-1 in six starts with 1,022 passing yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions, plus 167 rushing yards on 29 attempts; he continues to recover from a hamstring strain (Vikings.com; USA Today; UPI; OutKick).

Familiarity is central to Minnesota’s calculation. Cousins spent six seasons with the Vikings from 2018-23 and worked under current head coach Kevin O’Connell in 2022 and 2023, starting all 25 games he played and throwing for 6,878 yards, 47 touchdowns and 19 interceptions in those two years (Vikings.com). He also retains rapport with key pass-catchers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison and tight end T.J. Hockenson, and with most of the starting offensive line, according to the team (Vikings.com).

For wider midseason context, see NewsCubby’s Week 7 NFL recap, its Oct. 26 report on Seattle’s win over the Chiefs that also noted the Nov. 10 deadline, and its coverage of the NFL’s Paris game that weekend.

How has Cousins played for the Raiders this season?

Cousins, 38, started all nine games for Las Vegas this year, completing 202 of 315 passes (64.1%) for 2,340 yards with 20 touchdowns to eight interceptions and a 97.1 passer rating. USA Today placed that rating 11th entering Week 10 and noted his 20 TD passes trailed only Joe Burrow’s 23. Advanced metrics cited by USA Today: 7.4 yards per attempt, a QBR of 62.1, a Pro Football Focus grade of 77.1 (13th of 36 qualifiers), and +0.07 expected points added per dropback (11th of 31) (USA Today; Vikings.com; NFL.com).

With Cousins starting, the Raiders went 4-5, a mark NFL.com described as better than many expected and one that kept Las Vegas on the playoff bubble at midseason (NFL.com). He signed a one-year deal in April 2026 to join first-year head coach Klint Kubiak, a former Vikings quarterbacks coach. USA Today, citing Spotrac, reported the contract is worth $11.3 million fully guaranteed, ranking 35th among quarterbacks by average annual value, and includes a club option for 2027 and 2028 that would add $80 million in guarantees; USA Today added Minnesota is unlikely to exercise those options (Vikings.com; UPI; USA Today). OutKick added that Cousins had four games with three touchdown passes this season and threw three interceptions last weekend against the 49ers (OutKick).

Who is Fernando Mendoza, and will he start Sunday?

Mendoza, the 2026 No. 1 overall pick, is expected to take over for Las Vegas immediately following the trade, according to NFL.com, UPI and OutKick. NFL.com also notes he won the Heisman Trophy and a national championship at Indiana. Mendoza has already made one NFL appearance this season, entering a blowout loss to the Patriots and completing 6 of 8 passes for 48 yards, NFL.com reported; Sunday would be his first start if the Raiders move ahead as expected (NFL.com; UPI; OutKick).

Las Vegas hosts the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 4:05 p.m. ET. The Seahawks, 5-4, are the defending Super Bowl LX champions, having defeated the New England Patriots 29-13 on Feb. 8, 2026, for the franchise’s second title. Sam Darnold started at quarterback in that game and threw a touchdown pass to AJ Barner, per the team’s recap (Seahawks.com; Seahawks.com game center). UPI reports Aidan O’Connell is the only other quarterback on the Raiders’ roster (UPI). OutKick also connected the present to recent history by noting Minnesota did not re-sign Darnold after he started 17 games for the Vikings in 2024; he later became a Super Bowl champion in Seattle (OutKick).

What is Cousins' history with Minnesota?

Cousins was drafted in the fourth round by Washington in 2012, where he spent six seasons and became the primary starter in 2015 before playing on franchise tags and then signing with Minnesota in 2018 (Vikings.com; USA Today). Over six Vikings seasons from 2018-23, he led the team to a 50-37-1 regular-season record, completing 67.9% of his passes and averaging 4,494.4 passing yards, 33 touchdowns and 10.6 interceptions per 17 games, according to USA Today. His playoff record as a starter is 1-3, with a lone postseason win in the 2019 playoffs: a 26-20 overtime victory against the New Orleans Saints in which he went 19-of-31 for 242 yards and a touchdown (USA Today).

In 2022, Cousins’ first season under head coach Kevin O’Connell, he threw for 4,547 yards, 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions as Minnesota finished 13-4 and won the NFC North (NFL.com; USA Today). His 2023 season ended in Week 8 with a torn Achilles in a 24-10 win at Green Bay, the same Lambeau Field site where the Vikings will play this Sunday (Vikings.com; NFL.com). USA Today adds that across his career, Cousins has started 176 regular-season games with a 92-82-2 record; at the time of reporting, his 92 wins ranked seventh among active quarterbacks (USA Today).

After departing Minnesota, Cousins signed with the Atlanta Falcons in 2024. USA Today reports he opened strong that fall — including a 509-yard, four-touchdown Thursday night performance against Tampa Bay and a 4-2 team start — before the club turned to 2024 first-rounder Michael Penix Jr. The Falcons named Penix the 2025 starter, but Cousins made eight starts (5-3) that season before his release, after which he joined the Raiders in April 2026 (Vikings.com; USA Today).

Minnesota’s quarterback carousel since Cousins’ 2023 injury has been extensive. Counting his Week 8 start that year, nine different players have started for the Vikings, per the team: Cousins (1 start in 2023), Jaren Hall (2 in 2023), Joshua Dobbs (4 in 2023), Nick Mullens (3 in 2023), Sam Darnold (17 in 2024), J.J. McCarthy (10 in 2025), Carson Wentz (5 in 2025 and 2 in 2026), Max Brosmer (2 in 2025) and Kyler Murray (6 in 2026) (Vikings.com). This fall, Minnesota traded McCarthy — a 2024 first-round pick once expected to take over after Cousins — to the New York Giants on Sept. 28, 2026, for a fifth-rounder (NFL.com; Vikings.com). OutKick added that McCarthy battled a high-ankle sprain and a later hand fracture in 2025, then lost the 2026 job to Murray and was demoted to No. 3; the Giants pursued him after an injury to starter Jaxson Dart and uneven play from Jameis Winston, and he is now their starter on a team in the playoff hunt (OutKick).

What's next

Minnesota (6-2) visits the Green Bay Packers (6-3) on Sunday, Nov. 15, with kickoff at 1 p.m. ET at Lambeau Field. Cousins’ availability for Week 10 is not confirmed; the trade remains pending a physical, and the Vikings have not announced a starter. If Cousins is ready to go, NFL.com noted he could return at the same venue where his last Vikings game ended with a victory in 2023 (NFL.com).

Las Vegas hosts Seattle on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET. NFL.com, UPI and OutKick have reported the expectation that Fernando Mendoza will take over at quarterback; he has one prior NFL appearance this season and could make his first start against the defending champions. Aidan O’Connell is the only other quarterback on the roster, UPI reported. The Seahawks’ title defense follows their 29-13 Super Bowl LX win in February, the franchise’s second championship (NFL.com; UPI; Seahawks.com).

What remains unsettled is whether Cousins will be cleared and ready for Lambeau, and whether Mendoza starts against the defending champions. Those questions should be answered as the physical is completed and both clubs set their Week 10 lineups.

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*ARCHIVE PHOTO: Kirk Cousins, then the Minnesota Vikings quarterback, before a Nov. 6, 2022, game against the Washington Commanders at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. Not an image from the 2026 trade. Photo: Joe Glorioso / All-Pro Reels / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped).*

*NewsCubby articles are produced with AI assistance and reviewed by humans.*