Chiefs Nearly Signed Raiders Quarterback During Offseason

The Kansas City Chiefs just played against Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins on Sunday, and it was nearly a painful experience. Part of what made it that way was the possibility that they nearly signed Cousins to be their backup in the offseason, according to a report from Connor Byrne of ProFootballRumors.com. 

It’s an intriguing story. Per Byrne, there were three teams competing for Cousins before the Raiders signed him -- the Chiefs, the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers. 

The Chiefs’ involvement was one of those “it made sense at the time” stories. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was in the early stages of rehabbing from knee surgery, and Kansas City really had no idea if he’d be able to make it back in time to start the season, despite Mahomes’ claims to the contrary. 

The idea was to have Cousins fill in early in the season, then plug in Mahomes when he was ready. That seems slightly laughable now, given the way Mahomes is running around and making plays, but all of the intel about his surgery said it would take a lot longer than his projected timeline. 

Cousins' other options were sort of interesting. The 49ers already have two quarterbacks, but coach Kyle Shanahan reportedly has what’s been described as an affinity for Cousins, and Brock Purdy tends to get hurt a lot because of his style of play.

If the Niners had added Cousins, they would supposedly have shipped backup Mac Jones out of town in a trade, per Byrne, which can’t make Jones feel all that good about being loved and valued and all that. 

Cousins’ other option was the Cardinals, and that one had some teeth to it. The Cardinals are currently starting retread Jacoby Brissett, and Cousins could probably have won the job. Surviving the experience was another matter entirely, though, given Arizona’s chaotic operation. 

His story with the Raiders has had a happy ending, but the Chiefs may rue not signing Cousins. They traded for Justin Fields, who still can’t throw, and Fields was reportedly almost peddled to the New York Giants right before the season. 

Fields is still currently listed as the backup, but he was outplayed badly by rookie Garrett Nussmeier, who may yet see the field if Mahomes gets hurt. The Chiefs star quarterback is currently taking some vicious shots right now, and fixing this is a “must-do-now” item on Kansas City’s fix-it list during the early bye week.