Kirk Cousins returned to his comfort zone with no time to exhale as he hits the ground with the Minnesota Vikings in the midst of a tight NFC North race with the Packers up next on Sunday.
Cousins said he was excited to be back with the Vikings for a second stint with the franchise. He played for Minnesota from 2018-23 and his final game with the franchise was at Lambeau Field, where Minnesota is headed on Sunday. Cousins left that game with a ruptured Achilles with some degree of doubt he would every be back.
“It’s a special place to play no matter the circumstances, Lambeau Field,” Cousins said. “To be back there wearing the purple and gold, it has meaning. But you have to make it mean something with the way that you play.”
Cousins wasn’t entirely shocked by his name being mentioned in a trade and less surprised head coach Kevin O’Connell would be interested in bringing him back. He had 20 touchdown passes and eight interceptions for the Raiders (4-5) but was aware the Vikings were working through offensive issues this season.
Still, he reported to work Tuesday morning aware of the trade deadline but anticipating no major changes.
“I went in to get breakfast and have my lift. I was about halfway into my eggs. My phone started vibrating. It was Klint Kubiak,” Cousins said. “I told my teammates, ‘I have a feeling what this might mean.’ But he calls ever so often. He asked, ‘Are you in the building?’ And told me to come up (to Kubiak’s office). My heart started beating a little bit faster. I headed up there and talked to (Raiders GM John) Spytek and Klint. Had a really good conversation. They were just pure class from Day 1.”
Signing off on the trade made sense to Cousins because it was “all about winning the Super Bowl. That’s certainly where we want to go. It’s about taking the next step.”
Minnesota gave up a third-round pick to the Raiders, who are turning their offense over to Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, who shifted from prepping for Carson Wentz or Kyler Murray, is now getting ready for something totally different.
“I was surprised they didn’t get more for him, quite honestly,” LaFleur said of the trade. “I was shocked when I saw what they traded him for. It was mind-blowing to me.”
Cousins said he’s not ready to declare himself ready to start. He said he was still looking for rookie safety Jakobe Thomas to request his old No. 8 back.
He knows the offense, the playbook and a decent percentage of the personnel. But Cousins said reacclimating comes with challenges.
“Kevin knows me. He knows me well,” Cousins said. “He knows what I do well, he knows what I don’t do well. I think the fact that he knows me well, the good about me, the bad about me, is going to help us.”