Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins during an NFL game.
Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has another notable team tied to him, and this one is not just rumor or outside speculation.
Rams head coach Sean McVay said on Mrach 30 he would “love” to have Cousins in Los Angeles, naming the longtime Vikings starter alongside Jimmy Garoppolo as quarterbacks he would like to add. For Cousins, who was officially released by the Falcons on March 11 with a post-June 1 designation, that is one of the strongest public endorsements he has received since hitting the market.
That makes this worth tracking from a Vikings angle, too. Cousins is no longer the quarterback in Minnesota, but six seasons with the franchise ensured his next chapter would still matter to Vikings fans, especially when the interest comes from a playoff-caliber team led by one of the coaches most closely tied to his rise.
ProFootballTalk
Sean McVay says Rams are interested in Kirk Cousins as the backup to Matthew Stafford.
Sean McVay did not hide his respect for Kirk Cousins
McVay made clear that Garoppolo remains a priority for the Rams, but he also opened the door to Cousins in a very direct way.
According to McVay’s Pro Football Talk appearance, the Rams coach said Los Angeles needs to add another quarterback to the room and added that Cousins is one of the players he would “love to be able to have back with us.” He also said Cousins was “as influential as anybody” in helping him get to Los Angeles in the first place.
That part is especially important. This was not a generic veteran-quarterback answer. McVay tied Cousins to his own coaching history and openly acknowledged the personal and professional respect between them. That tracks with McVay’s long-standing praise for Cousins dating back to their Washington years, when the future Rams coach was one of Cousins’ biggest believers.
Why the Rams are a real landing spot
The Rams are not shopping for a new starter. Matthew Stafford is still atop the depth chart, and the Rams’ current in-house group behind him includes Jimmy Garoppolo and Stetson Bennett IV. But McVay’s comments make clear the room is still in flux, particularly if Garoppolo does not return on a new deal.
And this is not some fringe destination. Los Angeles finished the 2025 season one win short of the Super Bowl, losing 31-27 to Seattle in the NFC Championship Game after reaching the postseason as the NFC’s No. 5 seed. For a veteran like Cousins, that matters. The Rams can credibly offer something many teams cannot at this stage of his career: a chance to join a contender with an experienced play-caller who already knows exactly what kind of quarterback he is.
That is why McVay’s comment carries weight beyond simple offseason chatter. It signals that Cousins still has value to a team that believes it can win now.
The Vikings angle is obvious
For Vikings fans, this is the kind of update that naturally lands differently than a standard free-agent note.
Cousins spent six seasons in Minnesota and signed the fully guaranteed deal that reset his market when he arrived in 2018. Even after his exit, he remained one of the most discussed ex-Vikings in the league because of how central he was to the franchise’s recent era. McVay’s latest remarks revive that attention in a meaningful way: they connect Cousins not just to another team, but to a coach with deep history and a team with real stakes.
There is also a football reason this resonates. Cousins is not being discussed here as a bridge starter for a rebuilding team. He is being discussed as an option for a Rams team still built around Stafford, still built to compete, and still looking to strengthen the most important room on the roster.
That does not mean a deal is imminent. McVay made it clear Garoppolo is still part of the Rams’ thinking, and Cousins is still weighing his options after being released by Atlanta. But when a coach with McVay’s track record says out loud that he would love to have Cousins, it becomes more than background noise.
For now, the biggest takeaway is simple: Cousins is still drawing interest, and one of the league’s most respected offensive coaches just made that impossible to ignore.