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I have rarely seen a QB do more with less. Kubiak has made it clear that he is the guy this year but his play has really defied conventional wisdom. The run blocking is as putrid as it was last season. The pass blocking has been getting compliments but how much as that has to do with Cousins's pocket presence and pre snap reads?

I am not sure the subject deserves its own thread but I think what he has accomplished this season cannot be overstated and he has essentially put the offense on his back. I don't think anyone saw this coming.

Thoughts?...

Thank you Kirk. You were more than we could have possibly hoped for. Your mentorship to Mendoza was invaluable and you gave a beat down Raider fan some hope in watching competitive games.

Honestly, might be our best Free Agent signing and one of the best of the entire league this season.

Kirko says “go get em Mendoza” after the trade

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1E2c8g ... tid=wwXIfr

Raidernation1979 wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2026 2:18 pm Kirko says “go get em Mendoza” after the trade

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1E2c8g ... tid=wwXIfr

kirk cousins all class, gotta give him props

Class act. Once a Raiders always a Raiders includes Cousins. f[raiders_icon]ck Gardner, Geno, and Jimmy though.

Steve007 wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2026 1:36 pm I suggested he gives them a good shot at a Super Bowl. Maybe they lose in the 2nd round or the conference title game. Maybe they win it all. Nobody knows. But at least they have a realistic shot. If they don’t make the trade they have zero shot.

Agreed.

This exponentially improves their upside. When they sat 6-0 I told everyone that were going to lose their next eight games and 9 of their last 11. They were well on their way with that. I think they go 6-3 the rest of the way.

He knows their offense. He has been there done that and what get rattled. He already knows what it is like to play behind a terrible offensive line and still make the throws and plays that win games. He has the second lowest sack rate in the NFL, not bad for a guy with no mobility and a noodle arm. (Watching a highlight reel of him earlier today, his ball placement, anticipation and ability to throw into tight windows is pretty incredible). He has a great connection with JJ and this is going to lift the moral of the entire team. Reenergize a defense knowing the team can score points. Reenergize an offense knowing they have a QB that can actually get them the ball.

I told my Viking fan friends. Your welcome, we just handed you the Super Bowl on a platter, don't VIking it up.

Which they will do. The Vikings are going to Viking. I see them winning a play off game and then bowing out. Which is way better than the direction they would have been headed.

Of course if they lose to the Packers dumbass Vikings fans will blame Kirk and want to get rid of him because in his last stint every loss was always his fault.

mstrbass2000 wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2026 12:46 pm Albert Breer
@AlbertBreer
·

Also—Cousins is getting paid by three teams in 2026.

PLAYAH!!

Too bad we couldn't have gotten a little more from a desperate team. That 3rd will be a low 3rd.
Rest of the season I root against the Vikings....

BoKnows81 wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2026 1:03 pm Not necessarily upset with the compensation BUT let's be honest, the Vikings had ZERO leverage. They were absolutely desperate. Glad it's Mendoza time but I dont think we got max value. But that's OK bc it's a win win.

You think we might have squeezed a 2nd out of them, that would not have been out of line, given their situation.
Maybe if Wentz bad game was last week and they had a week to sweat.

You're right, win win

raider_kin wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2026 2:51 pm You think we might have squeezed a 2nd out of them.
Could be, maybe if Wentz bad game was last week and they had a week to sweat.

Not necessarily a 2nd. A 3rd & a 5th or even two 3rds. Remember, the 3rd we got is gonna be pretty much a 4th. To a desperate team with a superbowl window, I don't think we maxed out. But im not calling for heads. Its mendoza time.

Raidernation1979 wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2026 2:18 pm Kirko says “go get em Mendoza” after the trade

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1E2c8g ... tid=wwXIfr

And I say "go get em Kirko". I'll be rooting for Cousins and the Vikings the rest of the season. I don't think they go to a SB with Cousins, but it would be awesome if they did.

And the Raider game this week is appointment television.

raider_kin wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2026 2:51 pm You think we might have squeezed a 2nd out of them.
Could be, maybe if Wentz bad game was last week and they had a week to sweat.

Or maybe the Vikes were only offering a 4th and a 5th and were about to walk away until they caved and agreed to a 3rd.

None of us have a clue how the negotiations went down and it’s bar talk to discuss the woulda coulda shouldas.

I’m ecstatic that we got a great half season of play and mentorship from a veteran class act that put Mendo under his wing. Mendo was likely about to step into the starting g role regardless of this trade so we are lucky to get a third round pick and be rid of the $10M cap hit next year.

It’s a great day

BoKnows81 wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2026 2:54 pm Not necessarily a 2nd. A 3rd & a 5th or even two 3rds. Remember, the 3rd we got is gonna be pretty much a 4th. To a desperate team with a superbowl window, I don't think we maxed out. But im not calling for heads. Its mendoza time.

The Vikings may well have offered a 4th or 5th and Spytek talked them up to a 3rd. Who knows?

Deadline winner: QB Kirk Cousins
Cousins is about to have a quarterbacking season for the ages.

No, he won't set the passing touchdown record or anything. But let's trace the arc here.

Cousins started nine games for a 4-5 Raiders team that was waiting to turn the page to 2026 No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza. The entire time he started, he comported himself with the exact attitude and perspective you'd hope to see from a veteran bridge starter.

"If I'm not the best option, then I don't want to be out there," Cousins said in late October after the Raiders' fourth straight loss. "The organization will do what they feel is best, but I feel that Fernando's done a great job and has a bright future ahead. I'm going to try to go out there and play as well as I possibly can to help us win and give him a great example to learn from until he does go out there eventually."

A beautiful quote. And it echoes what Cousins has said from the beginning: He was in Las Vegas to help the team win but to also give Mendoza an example of how to prepare, speak, compete and perform as an NFL quarterback. If Mendoza looks competent at any part of the 2026 season (and even beyond), Cousins will receive the share of credit due an angel investor. Even if Mendoza was always destined to play well -- he's the first pick, for crying out loud -- Cousins and the Raiders' patient approach with Mendoza will be lauded as a contributing factor.

So, Cousins has that going for him. His arc continues to Minnesota where the power of friendship welcomes him with open arms. Cousins was a Viking from 2018 to 2023, the last two seasons of which were spent under head coach Kevin O'Connell. The Vikings went 13-4 in 2022 with Cousins before he tore an Achilles midway through the 2023 season.

O'Connell's offense isn't just good for Cousins, it's almost built in his image. O'Connell was the quarterbacks coach with Washington in 2017, Cousins' final season on the team. As O'Connell's path split from Cousins then reunited with him in Minnesota, it has become increasingly clear how much O'Connell's passing game needs a fearless pocket quarterback with the processing speed necessary to handle all the various route adjustments -- not to mention the velocity to hit intermediate throws. Those features have always been the strength of Cousins' game.

Cousins isn't just reuniting with pals, though. He's joining a 6-2 Vikings team powered by the league's best and most unique defense. The bar for Cousins -- who is 38 years old and doesn't have as big of an arm as he used to -- has simply never been lower. Carson Wentz's Monday night performance against the Bills dropped it to the floor. So long as Cousins can keep the offense on schedule and manage the time-of-possession battle, Minnesota's defense can win multiple playoff games. It's that dangerous of a group.

What else? He gets to throw to Justin Jefferson. That's sick (see below). Cousins could become the first quarterback to start 18 games (the Vikings have had their bye and the Raiders haven't), so he might indeed get to set a record after all. What a season it'll be for Kirk Cousins.

Sir Raider Duck, OMS wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2026 2:58 pm The Vikings may well have offered a 4th or 5th and Spytek talked them up to a 3rd. Who knows?

Its possible but unlikely. I think they would assume the Raiders would say, nah, we're contempt with Kirk the rest of the way. If we were mathematically eliminated or close to it, the leverage completely shifts gears.

But I agree, who knows.

OK, so what's the revised grade on the Kirk Cousins FA signing (that most of us were disappointed with at the time)? I might have given it a D- at the time and now it's an A+