Kirk Cousins Reveals Tom Brady’s Role in Raiders Move

The Las Vegas Raiders are poised to select Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. However, head coach Klint Kubiak has made it clear the team would prefer a veteran quarterback to start the season. That approach played a major role in their decision to sign veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins.

But why did Cousins choose the Raiders despite interest from teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings? While the $20 million salary was a significant factor, another key influence was a FaceTime call with legendary quarterback Tom Brady, now a minority owner of the franchise.

“Yeah, Tom’s been great," Cousins said on “Good Morning Football.” "I do a lot of homework before I move my family somewhere, so I had a lot of conversations with people in the Raiders organization, and one of those was with Tom. I texted him, called him, and he actually FaceTimed me while I was at baseball practice. I stepped away and talked with him for a minute, just to get on the same page, understand the vision of the organization, and see what he saw ahead and whether I’d be a good fit.

“I got off the call, and I called my wife. I said, ‘That was a really life-giving call with Tom.' He gets it. He’s been where I’ve been, and then some. He understands what it needs to look like, and I felt really like a shot in the arm after talking to him, and I felt like that was a big nudge for me to come to Vegas.”