Make New York Post a Preferred Source It all came down to “Monday Night Football.”
Following initial conversations with the Raiders, the Vikings’ trade deadline push for their former quarterback Kirk Cousins all hinged on backup Carson Wentz’s dreadful performance against the Bills at U.S. Bank Stadium, Ed Werder reported Tuesday.
When the 33-year-old and former Eagles starter was removed in the fourth quarter after failing to come up with anything beyond two interceptions, the Vikings knew their conversations with the Raiders were back on.
With less than an hour before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. trade deadline, the Vikings secured their top choice, Pro Football Talk reported, in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
The Raiders also gave Cousins, 38, the space to decide whether to stay or pack his bags.
“Put on Raiders” podcast host Ryan Holmes reported that the former Vikings quarterback of six seasons had unfinished business in Minnesota and chose to rejoin for the playoff push, despite his love for the Raiders organization and No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza.
He also knew it was only a matter of time before the Indiana product took over.
After speaking with his family, longtime agent Mike McCartney and Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, Cousins made his decision and informed Raiders GM John Spytek.
His Las Vegas tenure ended after nine regular-season games (4-5), with Cousins tallying 20 touchdown passes to eight interceptions.
With Cousins and Vikings already having familiarity, it was an easy sell for both parties.
Cousins spent four seasons with Justin Jefferson and played 25 regular-season games under O’Connell before moving on to Atlanta in free agency.
From 2018-23, Cousins led the Vikings to two playoff appearances but only logged a single playoff victory in his time with the organization.
He will be out to change that history and not waste a season with a Brian Flores defense and another prime season for Jefferson.
In collaboration with the NFL, Cousins’ first Instagram post following the trade was of a photo of him and the star wide receiver hugging after a game at a time Cousins was with Atlanta.
The league captioned the post, “this duo is BACK”
The Vikings (6-2) travel to Green Bay (6-3) on Sunday before facing the NFC favorite 49ers (7-1) in Week 11.
