EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Kirk Cousins has rejoined the Minnesota Vikings after not quite three years away, relishing his familiarity with the Twin Cities area, the people in the organization and, of course,
coach Kevin O'Connell's offense.
The improbable reunion with the quarterback-desperate
Vikings, via their deadline-day trade with the Las Vegas Raiders, made so much sense for all sides that it hardly seemed like a surprise in the end.“Kevin knows what I do well. Kevin knows what I don’t do well. Kevin knows what I can handle. Kevin knows what I can’t handle,” Cousins said Wednesday after arriving at Vikings headquarters. “And I think that helps. Not just that he knows your strengths, but that he knows your weaknesses.”
O'Connell stopped short of promising that Cousins would start Sunday at Green Bay — “That’s what we’re working toward, but we also want to make sure he feels good,” the coach said — but the Vikings didn't send their 2027 third-round draft pick to the Raiders for more depth.
With Kyler Murray's strained hamstring not yet ready for practice after sidelining him for the last game and Carson Wentz reeling from his poor performance in the 23-6 loss to Buffalo, the Vikings needed a quick fix for a sputtering offense to keep their exceptionally dominant defense and consistently productive special teams from being wasted. They preceded consecutive defeats with a 6-0 start.
Wentz went 8 for 25 for 81 yards with three turnovers against the Bills. Murray's completion percentage (64.9) is his lowest since his rookie year with Arizona in 2019, and he has led the offense to just six touchdowns in five full games. Cousins, meanwhile, ranks second in the league with 20 touchdown passes and fifth with 2,340 yards.
“His accuracy is something that you can really lean on snap in and snap out,” said O'Connell, who was Cousins' quarterbacks coach with Washington in 2017 and hired as head coach in Minnesota in 2022.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur had no doubt his defense will be playing against Cousins, who tore his Achilles tendon at Lambeau Field on Oct. 29, 2023, in his last game with the Vikings.
“Obviously he’s got familiarity with their system. Even if he didn’t, he’s a really intelligent guy, and I think he’s been playing at a high level,” LaFleur said. "I’m surprised they didn’t get more for him, quite honestly. I was shocked when I saw what they traded him for. It was mind-blowing to me.”
New Vikings general manager Nolan Teasley said the poor performance by Wentz against the Bills did not spur him to get this deal done, but rather that conversations about enhancing several positions had been ongoing for several weeks.
The Vikings gave Cousins two contract extensions after first signing him in 2018 and had interest in reupping again in 2024, but only at a price they were comfortable with for their salary cap management considering their plan to use a high draft pick on a quarterback that spring.
Cousins chose Atlanta for $100 million guaranteed and the chance to live near his wife’s family, but the Falcons blindsided him by taking Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick. Cousins was released after two seasons there and signed with the Raiders after they hired Klint Kubiak as coach. Kubiak worked closely with Cousins as quarterbacks coach for the Vikings from 2019-20 and offensive coordinator in 2021.
“I’m not too interested in completely starting over. There was a reason I went to Klint Kubiak this offseason,” Cousins said. "You’ve got to play off reaction and instinct, and if you’re thinking I don’t think you can quite be the player that you otherwise would be. So to me it’s important to be able to play at a place that you feel you at least have the potential to do that.”
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AP Sports Writer Steve Megargee in Green Bay, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.
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