Raiders May Get 2nd Shot to Add $180M QB as Minshew, O'Connell Flounder

The Las Vegas Raiders were rumored to be one of the franchises interested in former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins during the offseason. 

However, the Atlanta Falcons blew Cousins away with a $180 million offer and the Raiders were forced to sign Gardner Minshew II away from the Indianapolis Colts and pair him with Aidan O'Connell heading into the season. That decision reportedly impacted star wide receiver Davante Adams' trade request, and seven games later the Raiders are 2-5 and looking at another losing season. 

But Las Vegas may get the opportunity to flip the script where Cousins is concerned as early as next year. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler predicted that Cousins could be available on the trade market next spring, despite signing a four-year contract in Atlanta in March. 

"If we're aiming above the line of expected candidates and straight for the surprise bin, I'll start with Atlanta's Kirk Cousins as a trade candidate," Fowler wrote on Oct. 23. "The Falcons appear perfectly happy with Cousins, who is third in the NFL with 1,830 passing yards. But we can take information given to us and make educated assumptions. When I've asked people around the league whether they expect the Falcons to show restraint and sit Michael Penix Jr. for multiple years, the majority responded that they do not."

That Atlanta drafted Penix in the top-10 less than two months after signing Cousins was a shock to pretty much everyone, including Cousins himself. The presence of Penix in the locker room makes Cousins a viable trade chip down the line and a player the Raiders may well be interested in -- depending on where they land in the 2025 draft order and what QBs are available to them in that spot. 

Players like Shedeur Sanders of Colorado or Cam Ward of Miami may be worth a top-10 pick. They also may not be ready to play immediately.

It is feasible that Las Vegas, a QB-starved franchise for multiple seasons now, could trade something like a third-round selection to Atlanta and take on Cousins' salary for the next year or two, then still draft a QB in the top 10 that they plan to start a season or two down the road.