Minnesota Has Targeted Cousins In A Trade, Will Raiders Go There?

There’s been a lot of speculation about a possible trade involving Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins lately, to the point where Cousins’ value has soared. 

Part of this is about typical quarterback desperation at this time of year, with the Minnesota Vikings having identified Cousins as a prime trade candidate, according to the latest report from Adam Schefter of ESPN. 

Ted Nguyen of The Athletic took on the tape part of this in his latest film review as far as what Cousins is putting on the field. One intriguing note he offered was that rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza has looked “exceptional” in practice lately, although there’s still nothing concrete yet on the Raiders being willing to do this. 

But Cousins is also playing well. According to Nguyen, Sunday’s 38-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers was “a lot closer than the final score,” although that’s at least somewhat debatable given how easily the Niners moved the football. 

Cousins destroyed any chances of making the game competitive with three awful red zone turnovers, but the writer added that Cousins’ ability to execute the offense, read defenses and throw with anticipation is a huge reason the Raiders offense ranks eighth in points per drive (2.36).

The Raiders offense would take a step back with Cousins out of the lineup, as Nguyen noted, but this isn’t a playoff team with the Raiders defense playing so poorly. There are plenty of holes in the Raiders roster that need to be filled, and another question in play here is whether the offense has enough pieces to support its rookie quarterback. 

The Raiders have several things going for them on offense -- one of the league’s best pass-blocking offensive lines, per Nguyen, tight end Brock Bowers starring every week with Michael Mayer complementing him at the position, and coach Klint Kubiak, who has proven to be a top-ten play caller. 

There’s still no running came, but Cousins’ exceptional decision making before Sunday’s loss has kept things afloat, and Nguyen thinks there’s enough in place for a young quarterback to step in and not get overwhelmed. 

The real issue here is the timeline. The Raiders have a Week 13 bye, which would be the ideal timeline to implement the transition. But what if the Vikings were to overwhelm Las Vegas with the proverbial trade offer they can’t refuse? Would Kubiak go there and allow the deal to happen?

This is almost certainly what the Raiders are discussing now behind the scenes, most likely in private conversations between Kubiak, his veteran quarterback and GM John Spytek.