Kirk Cousins officially signed with the Raiders yesterday. Vegas remains on course to select Fernando Mendoza first overall in the upcoming draft, but Cousins could begin the 2026 season atop the depth chart.
Rather than aiming for a full campaign spent in a QB1 role, Cousins elected to join a number of familiar faces on the Raiders’ coaching staff. That includes new head coach Klint Kubiak and other staffers who previously worked with Cousins in Minnesota. A reunion was seen as a selling point in this case, as the four-time Pro Bowler recently noted.
“It starts with the coaching staff,” Cousins said during an interview with the team (video link). “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… 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.”
Kubiak served as the Vikings’ quarterbacks coach in 2019 and ’20 before spending the following season as the team’s offensive coordinator. That span overlapped with Cousins’ Minnesota stint, and it was followed by four straight one-year tenures around the league. Kubiak, 39, thrived as Seattle’s OC in 2025 and helped lead the team to a Super Bowl title. The play of quarterback Sam Darnold helped his head coaching stock and raised expectations regarding the development of Mendoza as he acclimates to the NFL.
Janocko (the Raiders’ new offensive coordinator) worked with the Seahawks as their QBs coach in 2025, making it no surprise when he followed Kubiak to Vegas. Janocko also spent time in Minnesota earlier in his career, serving in a number of roles from 2015-21. Dennison, too, overlapped with Cousins on the Vikings’ staff and was also a member of Seattle’s group this past season. He will work as Vegas’ offensive line coach in 2026.
Cousins is due $10MM guaranteed for the coming season, and his Raiders pact contains another $10MM in locked-in money in the form of a roster bonus early in the 2027 league year. His future beyond that point is unclear, but for now the veteran is set to spend the offseason reuniting with several coaches he has previously worked with.
Kirk’s agent deserves a place in Canton. Dude crushes it for Cousins.
I mean hes really only guaranteed 20MM, thats pretty standard for a QB these days. Thats likely what hes going to get and not the 172MM total because theyre not going to pick up that team option.
Did you see he surpassed Brady for most NFL earnings, not including endorsements, w/ this contract?
Oh enough of the storylines from you. Its like every post you comment something forgoing all critical thinking just to regurgitate a Skip Bayless-esque take you heard somewhere. Did you see Justin Fields got a $30MM guaranteed contract from the Jets last offseason? Like I said, this is just the going rate for a QB these days. The more time goes on, the more the funny numbers after the dollar sign increase. Partly due to inflation, largely due to more money to be spent on players in general. Just think for a bit.
Storylines from me? I comment on articles. I guess you don’t know the difference.
Brady has more SB losses than Kirk has playoff wins. But Kirk is still banking $20m at 37. Good for him.