Free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins has reportedly signed a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday, though terms of the contract have yet to be made public.
Cousins figures to serve as a mentor to presumptive number 1 pick Fernando Mendoza in 2026, possibly allowing him to sit for the first games of his NFL career. The 37 year old was previously released by the Atlanta Falcons this year after inking a 4 year, $180M contract with the club.
By heading to Vegas, Cousins will reunite with first year Raiders coach Klint Kubiak, who worked alongside Cousins for 3 years in Minnesota previously.
While the 4x Pro Bowler has struggled to regain his form since tearing his Achilles in 2023, he did complete 61.7% of his passes for 1,721 yards and 10 TDs against 5 INTs in 2025. Even if Mendoza were to win the starting job coming out of camp, given the buy out, Cousins would likely serve as an above average backup for the Raiders should the rookie struggle out of the gates.
The signing will also have trickle down effects across the NFL. The Pittsburgh Steelers in particular were a team who were monitoring Cousins’ availability. The team is currently without a de-facto number 1 QB as Aaron Rodgers continues to mull retirement. There’s also a rumour that’s been circulating that Rodgers could be interested in joining the Broncos, but how much traction that possibility has is up for debate.
If Pittsburgh doesn’t add another signal caller, and Rodgers doesn’t return, it would leave the team with either Will Howard or Mason Rudolph as QB1 to start the year.
Cousins needs just 2 more passing TDs to reach 300 for his career, and it looks like he could reach that milestone in the first few weeks of the 2026 NFL campaign should the Raiders decide to slow play the debut of Mendoza.
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.