Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur is confident he knows which quarterback will be starting for the Minnesota Vikings come Sunday at Lambeau Field.
The Vikings traded a third-round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders to acquire quarterback Kirk Cousins on Tuesday, and LaFleur is certain that it will be Cousins be under center for Minnesota on Sunday.
"Yeah, he'll be out there. He'll be starting. I'm fairly confident in that," LaFleur said Wednesday.
Cousins, 38, started the first nine games for the Raiders this season and will now get three practices this week to get ready to start for a new but familiar team. He was in Minnesota for six seasons and played under Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell for two seasons (2022-23), so knowledge of the offense won't
be a problem.
"Obviously, he has familiarity of 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.
The Vikings have lost back-to-back games and needed a spark at quarterback with Kyler Murray injured and struggling and backup Carson Wentz coming off a dreadful primetime performance against the Buffalo Bills to end Week 9. Enter Cousins, who left Minnesota following the 2023 season.
It cost the Vikings nothing more than a third-round pick to get a quality veteran quarterback at the midseason mark.
"I was surprised they didn't get more for him, honestly," LaFleur said of the trade. "I was shocked what they traded him for, it was mind-blowing to me."
In his last appearance for the Vikings, Cousins tore his Achilles tendon at Lambeau Field in November of 2023 and missed the rest of the season. He played the 2024 and 2025 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, eventually losing his job to first-round pick Michael Penix Jr., but Cousins was productive -- throwing 20 touchdown passes during the first nine games -- to open 2026 with the Raiders.
"He's a really good quarterback. And he's still playing at a really high level," LaFleur said. "He's still got it, man."
The Vikings currently have four quarterbacks on the roster: Cousins, Murray, Wentz and Max Brosmer. Barring an upset, Cousins will start for O'Connell's team in a huge NFC North showdown at Lambeau Field on Sunday.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers coach Matt LaFleur confident he knows which QB will start for Vikings
