Kirk Cousins is headed back to the Minnesota Vikings in a deadline trade with the Las Vegas Raiders completed Tuesday afternoon.
Cousins knows the city, coach and playbook extremely well from his six seasons in Minnesota (2018-2023), a run that ended with an Achilles injury at Green Bay in October of 2023.
With the Vikings in the thick of a tightly contested NFC North race and headed to Lambeau Field on Sunday, Cousins could be the starter when Minnesota and the Packers line up Sunday afternoon.
Las Vegas will receive a 2027 third-round pick in the deal.
Cousins represents an upgrade over the recent performance Minnesota has received at the position. Carson Wentz posted a single-digit passer rating and committed three turnovers in Monday’s 23-6 loss to the Buffalo Bills, dropping the Vikings to 6-2 this season. Kyler Murray was the starter Week 1 but left that game before halftime with a concussion and has failed to spark the Vikings’ offense in five starts since.
Minnesota is 31st in the NFL in passing offense at 160.8 yards per game and 27th in points per game (18.3).
The change of address is a big shift for Cousins, who has 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions with Las Vegas. But the Raiders are 4-5 and adrift of the AFC playoff picture as they pass the midseason mark. Las Vegas began the season 3-0 but head coach Klint Kubiak resisted calls to remove Cousins, 38, from the starting role.
In Minnesota, wide receiver Justin Jefferson and defensive coordinator Brian Flores are likely to be vying for the happiest members of the welcoming party. Cousins and head coach Kevin O’Connell remained close even after the longtime starter left Minnesota to sign with the Atlanta Falcons as a free agent before the 2024 season.
The Raiders will turn over the offense to No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza.
By design, the Raiders acquired Cousins to start to slow the NFL assimilation of Mendoza this season. He’ll jump into the fire in more ways than one with the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos on the schedule the next two weeks.
Jefferson has only 393 receiving yards and his 31 receptions rank him tied for 53rd in the league this season.
As a first-round pick in 2020, Jefferson made a massive splash as a rookie with 88 catches for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns in 16 games with Cousins.
According to the Vikings, Jefferson has 354 catches for 5,338 yards and has scored 29 touchdowns in 54 games with Cousins in his career.