Kirk Cousins explains why he signed with the Raiders

In an interview from the team’s YouTube, Cousins detailed what enticed him to the Raiders. Cousins brought up his familiarity with numerous coaches on the staff from time together in Minnesota, including HC Klint Kubiak, OC Andrew Janocko and OL coach Rick Dennison.

“It starts with the coaching staff,” Cousins said. “I was really excited to work with coaches I’ve worked with before in Klint Kubiak, Rick Dennison, Andrew Janocko. I had some of my best years playing with them. Coaching is a big deal in this league, so getting around them excited me. I think it’s a team that has a lot of young talent and they’re building something special, and I want to be a part of that.”

Talking specifically about Kubiak, Cousins couldn’t say enough about his work ethic and understanding of the game. Cousins expressed great respect for his new head coach because of his flexibility with quarterbacks.

“I can talk about him all I want, but my actions really show what I think of him, by being here. Great football mind, hard working, there’s a humility there that I deeply respect. He’s a great question-asker who wants to do what the quarterback’s comfortable with.”

Cousins, 37, is a former fourth-round pick of Washington back in 2012. He played out the final year of his rookie contract before being franchised in back-to-back seasons. 

Cousins later departed in free agency for a three-year, $84 million contract with the Vikings. He was entering the final year of his contract in 2020 when he agreed to a two-year, $66 million contract extension. In 2021, he agreed to a new one-year, $35 million contract extension that was also fully guaranteed.

He was in the final year of that deal in 2023 and was testing the market as an unrestricted free agent when signing with the Falcons in 2024. He inked a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million in guaranteed money. 

Cousins was released by the Falcons this offseason, and signed a deal with the Raiders that pays him $20 million in 2026.

In 2025, Cousins appeared in 10 games for the Falcons, starting eight, and completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions.