Matt LaFleur didn’t try to hide his surprise when the Vikings brought Kirk Cousins back into the fold before the NFL trade deadline.
Minnesota sent a 2027 third-round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders to complete the reunion, and the Packers head coach made it clear he thought the price was light for a quarterback of Cousins’ caliber.
“I was surprised they didn’t get more for him, quite honestly,” LaFleur said, via USA Today’s Ryan Wood. “I was shocked when I saw what they were trading him for.”
The move sets up an immediate storyline for Green Bay, which will be the first team to see Cousins since the trade. The Vikings, sitting at 6-2, are hoping he can help them keep rolling and snap the Packers’ two-game winning streak after Green Bay beat Minnesota 39-22 in Week 1.
LaFleur also sounded confident Cousins will be ready to go when the teams meet.
“He’ll be out there. He’ll be starting. I’m fairly confident in that,” the Packers coach said.
Cousins arrives back in Minnesota after spending six seasons there before leaving in 2024. He’s been the Raiders’ starter all season, opening all nine games and throwing for 2,340 yards, 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Green Bay knows the veteran well. Cousins has faced the Packers 11 times in the regular season, going 6-4-1 while completing 233 of 347 passes for 3,010 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions. That work has produced a 106.7 passer rating.
Some of his best outings against Green Bay came in Minnesota. In November 2021, he threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-31 win. In September 2022, he went 23 of 32 for 277 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-7 victory.
His last matchup with the Packers came in October 2023 at Lambeau Field, where he passed for 274 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-10 Vikings win. That game also ended his season when he suffered a torn Achilles. Now he’s set to return to that same stadium for his first game back with Minnesota.
The Packers and Vikings meet Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on Fox and Fox One.
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