klint kubiak
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John Spytek & Klint Kubiak of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Unlike the Maxx Crosby trade with the Baltimore Ravens, the Las Vegas Raiders were able to close the deal to send quarterback Geno Smith to the New York Jets. Aidan O’Connell is now the only quarterback on the Raiders’ roster.
The team is widely expected to use the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to add quarterback Fernando Mendoza. He’ll be the long-term start for the team, but general manager John Spytek has said that he’d like to add a veteran.
One name that’s on the Raiders’ radar is Kirk Cousins, according to The Athletic’s Josh Kendall, Dianna Russini and Saad Yousuf, who was officially released by the Atlanta Falcons.
The Las Vegas Raiders are expected to show interest in Cousins, 37, as they look for a veteran quarterback to help develop presumptive No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza, league sources tell The Athletic,” Russini, Kendall and Yousuf wrote.
“Whatever the case, the 14-year veteran quarterback is free to see what interest remains in his services across the league. Cousins, who is 19th in NFL history in regular-season passing yards (44,700) and 15th in passing touchdowns (298), has started 30 games the last three seasons while battling injuries and ineffectiveness. He was benched in favor of then-rookie Michael Penix Jr. in Atlanta in Week 15 of the 2024 season, but Cousins reclaimed the starting job with seven weeks remaining in the 2025 season after Penix suffered a season-ending knee injury.”
Cousins Makes Some Sense for Raiders
There aren’t a lot of great quarterback options still available in free agency, and Cousins is among the best who haven’t signed. He might want to go to a team that doesn’t have an established starter or isn’t obviously going to use a top draft pick on a quarterback, but it remains to be seen if that team exists.
For Cousins, the Raiders do make some sense. Head coach Klint Kubiak was Cousins’s quarterbacks coach on the Minnesota Vikings in 2019 and 2020 and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2021. The two know each other very well, so it would be a seamless fit.
Though Cousins isn’t going to be a long-term option for the Raiders, he could be a strong mentor for Mendoza and should be valuable in helping Kubiak teach his offense to the roster. If there aren’t better paths to being a starter next season, Cousins could strongly consider going to Las Vegas.
Is Cousins Willing to be a Backup Again?
The Vikings were considered an option for Cousins, but they’re going with Kyler Murray. The Jets would’ve made sense, but they went with Geno Smith. The Miami Dolphins already signed Malik Willis and the Indianapolis Colts gave a big contract to Daniel Jones.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could make sense, but they still don’t know if Aaron Rodgers is retiring. The Cleveland Browns could use a quarterback, but Cousins would still have to compete with young players.
There’s no guarantee he’d start for the Raiders, but his familiarity with Kubiak’s offense would give him a big head start over Mendoza. He’d at least have a real chance to start a few games at the beginning of the year. It’s not ideal for him, but it could be his best option.