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By Madison Williams
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The Minnesota Vikings reunited with quarterback Kirk Cousins on Tuesday ahead of the NFL trade deadline. The Las Vegas Raiders received a 2027 third-round draft pick in return.
Cousins spent six seasons with the Vikings before landing with the Atlanta Falcons in 2024. This season, Cousins started for the Raiders, but they decided it was time for No. 1 draft pick Fernando Mendoza to shine. So, Cousins returned back to the purple and gold.
Cousins sounds really excited to be back with his former team, especially since his last game there in 2023 was when he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury.
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"Knowing where that's where I was carted off—I had thoughts of 'is this my last game? Is this my last game as a Viking?'" Cousins said on Wednesday, via NFL.com. "Going back there wearing purple and gold, it has meaning. But you have to make it have meaning with the way you play."
Coach Kevin O'Connell hasn't confirmed that Cousins will play on Sunday versus the Green Bay Packers, although it's highly likely as this year's starter Kyler Murray is dealing with a grade 2 hamstring strain. He missed Monday night's contest versus the Buffalo Bills, which backup Carson Wentz played. Wentz didn't look good in the contest, leading the Vikings to trade for Cousins the following day.
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Even though O'Connell hasn't committed to him yet, Cousins knows that his coach understands his playing well enough to make an informed decision. He felt that way with Raiders coach Klint Kubiak, too, who was the Vikings' offensive coordinator before.
"Similar to Klint, Kevin knows me," Cousins said. "Kevin knows what I do well. Kevin knows what I don’t do well. Kevin knows what I can handle. Kevin knows what I can’t handle. I think that helps, not just that he knows your strengths, but that he knows your weaknesses, and as a result he’s gonna try to protect you. I think the fact that he knows me well, the good about me and the bad about me, I think should help us.”
Of course Cousins is excited to reunite with wide receiver Justin Jefferson, too. The two connected well in Minnesota in years past, and it's expected for the same to happen when Cousins gets back on the field.
"For me, with Justin, it's play to play," Cousins said. "Play in, play out, you're going where reads take you. ... You don't go chasing things, but you also understand the player that he is, you go where the reads take you and he tends to make you right when throwing the ball in his direction."
Jefferson's on a slower pace this season while playing with Murray. He's achieved over 1,000 yards a season, but he's only at 393 yards after seven games this year. Hopefully he'll get more targets with Cousins to keep his streak alive.
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