kirk cousins
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Las Vegas Raiders QB Kirk Cousins.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins is officially in the building and getting to work for the Las Vegas Raiders. While he’s clearly not going to be the long-term quarterback for the team, there’s a very good chance he’ll be the starter in 2026.
That means there will be a lot of interest in his jersey. When he played for Michigan State, the Washington Redskins and the Minnesota Vikings, he wore No. 8 as his jersey number. He had to switch to No. 18 for his stint with the Atlanta Falcons.
Luckily for him, there wasn’t any other player wearing No. 8, so it was revealed that he’s returning to his longtime jersey number on the Raiders.
Kicker Daniel Carlson wore No. 8 for the Raiders last season, but the team decided against bringing him back. This also shouldn’t interfere with likely No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza’s jersey choice. He wore No. 15 in college, and no player on the Raiders roster currently holds that number.
The most famous Raider to wear No. 8 was Hall of Fame punter Ray Guy. There have also been several quarterbacks to wear the number in the history of the franchise, most notably Daunte Culpepper, Jason Campbell and Matt Schaub.
Cousins Praises Raiders Uniforms
Cousins is going to be more than happy to get that No. 8 Raiders jersey. Upon his signing, he had some high praise for the franchise’s uniform.
“Best jerseys in pro sports I think,” Cousins told Raiders.com. “I remember being in warm-ups once playing the Raiders and our head coach looked at me and said, ‘Those have to be the best jerseys that they are in pro sports.’ And I said, ‘You know what, Coach, I have to agree. Those are really sharp.'”
The Raiders have been one of the only franchises to stay consistent with their uniforms since the start. It’s easy to see why, considering how much players seem to resonate with the style.
Cousins On Relationship With Klint Kubiak
There were many reasons why Cousins wanted to go to the Raiders, but a big one was head coach Klint Kubiak. The two worked together on the Minnesota Vikings for three years.
Cousins is very high on what Kubiak is able to do as a playcaller and coach.
“A lot of conversations and meetings to learn how he sees football and he was able to learn how I see it,” Cousins said of Kubiak. “He called plays for me in 2021, which I look back now and feel like that was objectively probably the best season I ever had. And I think a lot of that has to do with Klint and his ability to put together strong game plans and call games well. I think he showed that this past season in Seattle and the way he called games throughout the playoffs and on the big stage in the Super Bowl.”
Cousins’ reunion with Kubiak will likely only last one season, but if he can have a strong year, that will give him a stronger chance of being a starter elsewhere next year. He’s putting a lot of trust into Kubiak this season.