Cousins sees opportunity with Raiders as chance to 'finish strong'
Kirk Cousins is excited to work under head coach Klint Kubiak after signing with the Las Vegas Raiders, saying he's determined to end his career on a high note.
"For me, I got more football behind me than ahead of me," Cousins told Levi Edwards of the team website. "And as a result, I see my time here as a great opportunity to finish strong.
"To leave a mark, to hopefully send things in the right direction, such that when I'm done playing, I can be proud of not only what we did in my time here in Vegas, but then what the Raiders are still doing."
Cousins joined the Raiders on a reported one-year, fully guaranteed $20-million contract. The Atlanta Falcons are apparently paying $8.7 million of the new deal, leaving the Raiders on the hook for just $11.3 million. Cousins' contract also reportedly includes a two-year, $80-million team option for 2027-28.
The 37-year-old is projected to be Las Vegas' Week 1 starter even with the club expected to select Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza out of Indiana with the No. 1 pick in a couple of weeks. Kubiak and general manager John Spytek have told reporters over the last few months that they aren't fans of starting a rookie out the gate.
Cousins appeared in 10 games for the Falcons last season with eight starts, posting a 5-3 record. He helped Atlanta win its final four contests of the year and finished the campaign with 1,721 passing yards and 10 touchdowns. Out of 35 qualifying signal-callers in 2025, Cousins ranked 21st in success rate and 25th in EPA/play, according to Ben Baldwin's database.
Cousins is entering his 15th NFL season after being drafted in the fourth round by the Washington Commanders in 2012. Cousins and Kubiak spent three seasons together with the Minnesota Vikings, during which the new head coach served as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.
"(Kubiak) called plays for me in 2021, which I look back now and feel like that was objectively probably the best season I ever had," Cousins said. "And I think a lot of that has to do with Klint and his ability to put together strong game plans and call games well.
"I think he showed that this past season in Seattle and the way he called games throughout the playoffs and on the big stage in the Super Bowl."
Cousins owns an 88-77-2 record and 44,700 passing yards during his NFL career with the Commanders, Vikings, and Falcons.