The Las Vegas Raiders may very well be content with Aidan O'Connell as the backup for soon-to-be-drafted new franchise quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
But as we've seen over the years, O'Connell isn't guaranteed to keep the Raiders afloat if he has to start for any reason, and that's not an ideal situation for a first-year head coach in Klint Kubiak, who wants to get out of the gates strong.
Luckily, there are a few options out there in free agency if the Raiders aren't content with O'Connell and one of them is former Pro Bowler and Atlanta Falcons quarterback, Kirk Cousins.
In an article predicting landing spots for some of the top free agents remaining, SportsGrid's Paul Connor predicts the Raiders will sign Cousins in free agency.
"The Raiders are universally projected to select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 overall," Connor writes. "New head coach Klint Kubiak operates a wide-zone system that Cousins previously mastered, making him the perfect mentor to accelerate Mendoza's development."
This is a logical connection to make, especially after The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported that the Raiders are expected to show interest in Cousins.
“Expect the Las Vegas Raiders to show interest in Kirk Cousins as they look for a veteran QB addition to help develop presumptive No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza,” Russini reported.
Cousins was cut loose by the Falcons earlier this month and remains without a home, likely because he's looking for a starting job that doesn't appear to be out there for him.
Cousins isn't drawing much, if any starting interest because of the downfall we've seen him experience in recent years.
That said, he did have a decent showing down the stretch of last season in place of an injured Michael Penix Jr., which shows he's still capable of being a viable backup, at worst.
Adding to that, Cousins would be an ideal mentor to Mendoza given his wealth of experience in the NFL.
Spotrac projects a one-year, $10.7 million deal for Cousins in free agency, which we would deem too high at this point. Even if Cousins does garner that price tag, Las Vegas can afford it with $23.4 million in cap space remaining.
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