Kirk Cousins Has An Alter Ego He Uses To Keep Teammates Loose

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins has been in the NFL for a long time, and he knows what it takes to be successful. At age 38, Cousins also knows a lot about what failure feels like and what a grind the game can be, and he’s taking that into account in his current stint with the Raiders. 

Cue Cousins' alter ego, which has hilariously been dubbed “Kirko Chainz.” It makes fun of Cousins’ dad persona, the vibe for which defensive end Maxx Crosby described as more than a little over the top in a recent piece by Ryan McFadden of ESPN. 

The alter ego surfaced prominently in the Raiders’ 38-33 win over the New York Jets, as Cousins celebrated a late touchdown with a dance that was more than ridiculous. No one knew what to make of it, but it did lead to an “investigation” of sorts as to how this came about. 

Per McFadden, it started to evolve (devolve?) during the Raiders’  recent four-game losing streak, although it originally dates back to Cousins’ stint with the Minnesota Vikings back in 2022. Cousins has been hosting team trips to In-N-Out burger, but it had been a while, so he let his teammates drape him with a variety of chains and jewelry around his neck and wrists. 

Cousins overall goal with this is to keep team loose, and the message here is to stay the course through good times and bad. His mantra with all this is don’t let the league “steal your joy,” which can easily happen due to all the ups and downs. 

It also keeps the focus on Cousins when some of his teammates aren’t playing well, so that’s part of the play here as well. Players like running back Ashton Jeanty and cornerback Eric Stokes had a rough go against the Jets, and putting more attention on the quarterback is always a good way to deflect and reduce some of the criticism. 

It’s especially necessary for the Raiders right now. They’re going through a complete roster rebuild, and they’ve either been pretty good or very bad. It’s a tough roller coaster to ride, with the next installment happening on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. 

Cousins knows much of the attention will be on him, good or bad, and he’s been remarkably consistent in his comments and messaging as he continues to start for Las Vegas with rookie Fernando Mendoza waiting in the wings.