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The Vikings made the attention-grabbing move just ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline Tuesday by reuniting with Kirk Cousins in an attempt to address their quarterback issues.
They agreed to send a third-round pick in next year’s NFL Draft to the Raiders for Cousins, a source told Front Office Sports.
The agreement came a little less than 90 minutes before the 4 p.m. ET league-wide trade deadline.
Cousins, 38, signed a five-year, $172 million contract with the Raiders in the offseason that essentially represented only a one-year commitment for a guaranteed $20 million. The Vikings inherit the remainder of that contract. Cousins has had more than $333 million in estimated career earnings, according to Spotrac.
He spent six seasons with the Vikings between 2018 and 2023. He moved on to the Falcons and then the Raiders, while the Vikings had Sam Darnold and J.J. McCarthy as their quarterbacks. Minnesota signed Kyler Murray last offseason to be its starter and went with Murray over McCarthy to open the season.
But the Vikings’ offense has sputtered while their defense has been superb. McCarthy was traded to the Giants in late September, and Murray recently injured his hamstring. Carson Wentz started in place of Murray in Monday night’s ugly loss to the Bills before a national audience on ESPN.
The trade means that Fernando Mendoza, the top overall selection in this year’s NFL Draft by the Raiders after winning the Heisman Trophy at Indiana, is in line to take over as the starter for Las Vegas.
Jaguars Signal They’re All-In
There were four trades made across the league Monday, including three deals involving the Jaguars. They added defensive tackle Jordan Davis from the Eagles, safety Jessie Bates from the Falcons, and defensive tackle Davon Godchaux from the Saints. The trade compensation for Davis was particularly hefty, as Jacksonville sent a first-round draft pick next year and a second-rounder in 2029 to Philadelphia.
The trades signaled that the small-market Jaguars, already a top AFC contender, are making a concerted Super Bowl push. That bold approach isn’t surprising, given that Jaguars general manager James Gladstone was part of the Rams’ front office when they made their successful Super Bowl-or-bust moves on their way to a championship in the 2021 season.
The Eagles’ trade of Davis, meanwhile, may have marked the unofficial start of an organizational reset in response to their highly disappointing season.
Other trades completed Tuesday included the Colts sending wide receiver Keenan Allen to the 49ers for a sixth-round pick; and the Titans dealing safety Amani Hooker and a fifth-round choice to the Bills for a second-round selection.
The Bengals reportedly backed out of a near-deal Tuesday in which they would have obtained pass rusher Arnold Ebiketie in a trade with the Eagles for a sixth-round choice next year.
Trade-deadline day arrived with much anticipation in and around the league. The NFL was once a virtual no-trades league. But that had changed within the last decade or so, and there already had been a series of significant deals made this season ahead of the deadline.
Longtime NFL agent Leigh Steinberg told FOS last week that the NFL now has “a situation much more like baseball … with teams identifying themselves as buyers, sellers, stand-pat” ahead of the deadline.
Steinberg cited the trade deadline being moved later in the season; ever-increasing win-now pressure; more aggressive executives in teams’ front offices; expanded playoff fields that keep more teams in the race for postseason berths deeper into the season; and sometimes-difficult contract circumstances with certain players as being among the reasons for the league-wide transformation.
There were only six in-season trades in the NFL in 2016, nine in 2017, and 11 in 2018. But that number jumped to 19 in 2019 and has not been below 13 in any year since then. There were 22 in-season trades last year. There had been a dozen trades this season prior to Tuesday.
The other notable trades made previously this season included defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons being sent from the Titans to the Bears; McCarthy moving from the Vikings to the Giants; and quarterback Jacoby Brissett heading from the Cardinals to the Ravens. The Colts sent guard Quenton Nelson to the Seahawks and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the 49ers.
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