Matt LaFleur Was ‘Shocked’ Raiders Didn’t Get More for Kirk Cousins

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur thought the Las Vegas Raiders would get more for Kirk Cousins.

The Raiders traded Cousins to the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.

“I was surprised they didn’t get more for him, quite honestly — I was shocked what they traded him for,” LaFleur told reporters Wednesday, via NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk. “It was mind-blowing to me.”

Cousins started all nine games for Las Vegas this season. He completed 64.1% of his passes for 2,340 yards, 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

The 38-year-old’s production had increased his trade value heading into the deadline.

Minnesota had already emerged as a possible destination because Cousins had spent six seasons with the Vikings, including two under current head coach Kevin O’Connell.

Raiders general manager John Spytek told reporters the team hadn’t been shopping Cousins.

He said he hadn’t expected to trade the quarterback before the Vikings called Tuesday morning.

Las Vegas signed Cousins in April and let Fernando Mendoza learn behind him through the first nine games of the season. The Raiders went 4-5 in that stretch.

Spytek said Mendoza’s growth as a quarterback and teammate made the decision more difficult.

The trade gave Las Vegas another pick in next year’s draft and moved up the rookie’s first start.

The Raiders named Mendoza their starter for Sunday’s home game against the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.

The No. 1 overall pick has appeared in one regular-season game, completing six of eight passes for 48 yards in an October loss to New England.

LaFleur, who coached Cousins when the quarterback entered the NFL with Washington, expects him to start when the Vikings visit Green Bay on Sunday.

The Packers coach said he would study what Cousins did well in Las Vegas as he prepared for the matchup.

Green Bay also has film of Cousins in O’Connell’s offense from his first stint in Minnesota.

The Vikings enter Sunday at 6-2 and could get their first look at Cousins back in O’Connell’s offense just five days after the trade.

Later that afternoon, the Raiders will get their first look at Mendoza as a starter, with eight games left to evaluate him before they enter the offseason with an extra third-round pick.