Raiders, Cousins agree to reported 1-year, $20M contract
The Las Vegas Raiders and veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins have agreed to a contract, his agent Mike McCartney announced Thursday.
It's a one-year, $20-million fully guaranteed deal, sources told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. The agreement also includes a two-year, $80-million team option for 2027-28, Pelissero adds. The Atlanta Falcons will reportedly pay $8.7 million of the new contract, meaning Las Vegas is on the hook for $11.3-million of the guaranteed deal.
Cousins was released by the Falcons in March after signing a four-year deal two seasons ago. He started 22 games during his tenure in Atlanta, recording 5,229 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
The Falcons benched the 37-year-old for the final three games of the 2024 season in favor of then-rookie Michael Penix, whom they drafted eighth overall just a month after signing Cousins to a massive contract.
Cousins started the final seven contests of the 2025 season after Penix suffered a season-ending knee injury in mid-November. He finished the year with a 5-3 record and helped the Falcons go 4-0 from Weeks 15-18 to close out the season.
The Raiders will be Cousins' fourth team since he was selected in the fourth round of the 2012 draft by Washington. He's thrown for 44,700 yards in 174 career games, and his $321.5 million career earnings rank third in NFL history, according to Over The Cap.
Las Vegas owns the top pick in the upcoming draft, and Aidan O'Connell was the only signal-caller currently on the roster prior to Cousins' addition. The Raiders are widely expected to select Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza with the top pick after the quarterback led Indiana to a National Championship.
Klint Kubiak, who is entering his first season as the Raiders' head coach after helping lead the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl last campaign, hinted that he does not want a rookie quarterback to start right away for his team.
"Ideally, you don't want him to start from day one," Kubiak said. "You'd love him to be able to learn behind somebody. That's in a perfect world. It doesn't always work out that way."
Kubiak added, "Sometimes they have to play from day one and it's our job as coaches to get them ready to go. I think it does help the player if they can sit behind a mature adult and watch how they run the show."
The 2026 NFL Draft kicks off April 23.