Vikings Inquired About Kirk Cousins & Mac Jones

After the Raiders rebuffed the offer, the Vikings returned with a third-round pick to bring Cousins back to Minnesota. One thing to note is that the Vikings take on Cousins’ $10 million bonus for 2027, which obviously frees up that money for the Raiders.

While Las Vegas wasn’t looking to make the deal, Schefter and Rapoport say QB Fernando Mendoza has looked phenomenal in practice, and the third-round pick made the switch easier, with Cousins now starting for the Vikings in Week 10.

Minnesota also reached out to the 49ers about QB Mac Jones, and were told it would take a second-round pick and more to pry Jones away from the West Coast. Schefter and Rapoport say the conversation stopped there, and the Vikings shifted their attention to Cousins.

However, the duo said this wasn’t the first time the Vikings had reached out about Jones only to be met with a high price, since 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan views Jones as a franchise quarterback and would only trade him for a deal he had no choice but to accept. Shanahan had told reporters that many other teams had called about Jones, but San Fran was unwilling to let him go.

Cousins, 38, was a fourth-round pick by Washington 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 entered the final year of his contract in 2020, when he agreed to a two-year, $66 million extension. In 2021, he agreed to a new one-year, $35 million contract extension, also fully guaranteed.

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

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

In 2026, Cousins has made nine starts for the Raiders, completing 64.1 percent of his passes for 2,340 yards (7.4 YPA), 20 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. 

Jones, 28, took over as Alabama’s starter in 2020 and led one of the best offenses in school history. He was a consensus All-American as a redshirt junior and won the Davey O’Brien Award before declaring for the draft. The Patriots took Jones with pick No. 15 overall in 2021.

Jones signed a four-year, $15,586,353 contract with the Patriots that includes a $8,695,530 signing bonus. He was entering the fourth year of that deal when the Patriots traded him to the Jaguars for a sixth-round pick. 

The Jaguars declined Jones’ fifth-year option during the 2024 offseason. He signed a two-year deal with the 49ers in March. 

In 2025, Jones appeared in 11 games for the 49ers, starting eight. He completed 69.6 percent of his pass attempts for 2,151 yards, 13 touchdowns, and six interceptions.