The Raiders are going to hear the phone ring on Kirk Cousins before the November 10 trade deadline. The bigger question is whether Las Vegas has any real interest in picking up the call.
Sports Illustrated insider Albert Breer doesn’t see the Raiders moving off their 38-year-old quarterback unless someone makes a serious offer. On the Ryen Russillo Show on Thursday, Breer said Minnesota would be one team that would want Cousins, though he also made it clear the price would likely be too steep for the Vikings.
“I do think like they would be interested in Cousins. I just don’t think Kirk is going to be available,” Breer said of the Vikings on the Ryen Russillo Show on Thursday.
Breer also pointed to how the Raiders are handling Fernando Mendoza, saying the team is being careful with its plan for the first-round pick and likes where he is in his development. At the same time, he said Las Vegas doesn’t want to send the wrong message to a locker room sitting at 4-4.
“The Raiders are being so deliberate and so detailed with their plan for bringing Fernando Mendoza along, which by the way, they think he’s going to be a star. They’re really happy with where he’s at, but they’re 4 and 4 right now… they don’t want to send a message to the players in Klint Kubiak’s first year that ‘Oh yeah, well, you know we’re really building for 2028.’ So I think it would take a big offer for them to move off of Kirk, and I don’t think that that’s really part of their plan.”
That doesn’t mean the situation is settled. The Raiders have two of their toughest games of the season coming over the next two weeks, and that stretch could change how they view the quarterback room. If things go poorly and Las Vegas slips to 4-6, keeping Mendoza on the sideline becomes a tougher sell.
The problem is timing. The deadline is only four days away, so Sunday’s result could carry real weight if the Raiders are going to let the season’s direction shape their thinking on Cousins. Breer said the team is “really happy” with Mendoza’s progress, which makes it hard to imagine the Raiders wanting to hold him back much longer anyway.
Tom Pelissero has also framed the discussion around what kind of return would actually make sense. On the Bill Simmons Podcast on Tuesday, he said the price tag is the key issue.
“Well, here’s what it comes down to,” league insider Tom Pelissero said on the Bill Simmons Podcast on Tuesday.
“What are you willing to pay for Kirk Cousins? Are you giving up a second-round pick?
Are you sending a first-round pick for Kirk Cousins? I don’t know why the Raiders would do it for less.”
Pelissero had already said a few days earlier that Cousins could step into plenty of offenses around the league right now, and he explained why moving on from him would not be a simple call for Las Vegas.
“Cousins is the one,” Pelissero said.
“Half the league runs a derivative of the offense that he plays in. He’s playing at a really high level and he’s got a $10 million guaranteed roster bonus next March that if the Raiders have the opportunity to offload that money to get a pick for a guy who they’re probably going to end up cutting in March and play the number one pick. It’s hard because you’re in the playoff chase.”
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