What they’re saying: Will the Raiders trade Kirk Cousins to the Vikings?

Will the Las Vegas Raiders unload Kirk Cousins?

It’s possible a rare opportunity to trade a starting quarterback for worthwhile draft compensation has emerged with the Minnesota Vikings.

With a Super Bowl-caliber defense, the 6-2 Vikings need better quarterback play after Kyler Murray struggled before he injured his hamstring. Then on Monday night, backup Carson Wentz imploded in completing only 8 of 25 passes for 81 yards, throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble in a loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Cousins, who played for six seasons in Minnesota, including three Pro Bowl selections, would be returning to familiar territory. He’d be reunited with coach Kevin O’Connell, who was there with Cousins for two seasons and also served as his quarterbacks coach in Washington.

With the 4-5 Raiders perhaps on their way to falling out of the playoff picture after Cousins threw three interceptions in Sunday’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers, and with Fernando Mendoza waiting in the wings, a trade with the Vikings could be logical for both sides.

Here’s what they’re saying:

Josina Anderson, Exhibit News Network: So what should the Vikings do to deal with this QB crisis they’re in?

Get on the phones today and don’t get off, because as a league source texted me this morning:

“They need to do something. Wasting a very good defense.”

I wholeheartedly agree.

But the Raiders should absolutely not do this. They are 4-5.

They are not 2-7 like the Jets, and 1-7 like the Titans. They have a premium, blue chip Number 1 overall pick in Fernando Mendoza who needs every bit of careful shred of incubating, mentoring and stability to make it work.

Michael Lombardi, Football Done Right: “When (Vikings general manager Nolan) Teasley calls the Raiders, he should find an interested party. The Raiders need more players, and they need more top 100 picks. I understand the reasoning behind not wanting to rush Fernando Mendoza, and they still have Aidan O’Connell on the roster if they feel Mendoza isn’t ready. Cousins is what Bill Parcells called a progress stopper. He stops the team from improving. Each rep he takes hurts the advancement of the program. Yes, you don’t want Mendoza to get killed or lose confidence, but that’s a problem for the coach to work around. Cousins isn’t going to get the Raiders and their bad defense to the playoffs. He will only keep them in games until the 50 minute mark, when the Raiders finally collapse. Cousins to Minnesota makes too much sense.”

Conor Orr, Sports Illustrated: “Look at Seattle last year. Sam Darnold is Sam Darnold. The Seahawks had a good run game. They had an elite wide receiver. And they had one of the best defenses in the NFL. Same formula. And everyone’s like, ‘A first-round pick for Kirk Cousins?’ What’s the point of doing this, then?. It’s like, ‘Oh, there’s a calculation. We need to get younger here.’ OK, then you’re giving up on the season. Because Kyler Murray is not good enough. And we’re going to see Carson Wentz tonight … it’s not good enough.”

Michael Rand, Minnesota Star Tribune: “To me, the only viable, real thing that would make me feel like, OK, they’ve gone for someone who is an obvious upgrade and who could help them win this season, give themselves a chance to not only to make the playoffs but may actually do something in the playoffs, is Cousins. It just is.

“It makes sense, and he’s a guy obviously who has familiarity with this offense. Everybody talks about how complex the (Kevin O’Connell) offense is. So that’s why I feel like Cousins is the only guy who you could bring in that would make any sort of sense that was a huge, meaningful upgrade.”

Charles Robinson, NFL Blue Book: “I think a third-round pick would be too tempting to pass up for Las Vegas. Yes, it’s rich. But the Raiders have been placing a lot of value on Cousins’ bridge role as No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza patiently grows as an understudy.

“Mendoza’s time is coming. And getting a solid draft pick for Cousins would just stack another asset to build the offense. While I’m not sure the Raiders would want to plug Mendoza in to face three tough defenses before the bye week, the deadline is the deadline.”

Shannon Sharpe, Nightcap: “Hey, trade for Kirk Cousins. You might have to overpay. Give up a second-round or a third-round pick for Cousins. They ain’t going nowhere. Where the hell the Raiders going? You need to build. You need compensation. Because what you thought you had with Baltimore, you had a first-round pick (with the Maxx Crosby deal). Well, you don’t have that now. The Raiders need players to build.”

Contact Diamond Leung at [email protected]. Follow @diamond83 on X.