Breaking news out of Las Vegas, Nevada as 13-year veteran Kirk Cousins has signed a five-year, $172 million deal with the Raiders, where he is expected to back up soon to be the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft Fernando Mendoza. While this contract looks absolutely ridiculous when ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news, Cousins’ deal is actually a fully guaranteed one-year, $20 million deal with a club option for an additional two years at $80 million. This move is not surprising after the Falcons recently signed former Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a one-year minimum contract to start in place of Michael Penix Jr who suffered a torn ACL in November of last season.
The Falcons seemed to be just fine with parting ways with Cousins and will also be fine with only paying $8.7 million of the 20 million with the Raiders fronting the majority of his pay this season, covering the remaining $11.3 million. The Raiders seem to be keen on improving their roster this off season by finding the right pieces to surround their soon to be rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza by bringing in an experienced quarterback in Cousins but also agreeing to pay Cousins an additional $10 million roster bonus on the third day of the new league year for 2027. I have a hard time believing the Raiders won’t have Cousins on the roster by that time next season given the experience and leadership he can bring to that locker room and Mendoza.
In the ten games that Kirk Cousins played for the Falcons last season, he threw for 1,721 yards with a 61.7 completion percentage, ten touchdowns and five interceptions. While Cousins is nowhere near the level of being able to start all 17 games in an NFL season, the tools and tricks he can pass on to Mendoza could be worth the money alone if the Indiana alum and reigning National Champion pans out to be the Raiders next franchise quarterback. Even if Mendoza is a bust Cousins in the end probably won’t care given that with this new contract, this is now the eleventh-straight NFL season where Cousins' contract is fully guaranteed.
