Kirk Cousins agrees to sign contract with Raiders, agent says

Henderson, Nev. — The las vegas raiders agreed to terms with cancer cousin On Thursday, two days after the new coach Clint Kubiak He said he wanted to add another experienced quarterback to the roster.

Cousins’ agent announced the deal, which will pay the four-time Pro Bowler $20 million in guaranteed money through 2026, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. This will be the 11th consecutive season that Cousins’ contract will be fully guaranteed.

The source told Schefter that the deal includes a two-year, $80 million club option and could be worth up to $172 million over five years, although only $20 million is fully guaranteed this year.

Cousins, 37, will join a Raiders team that is widely expected to select the former Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza With the first overall pick in the NFL Draft later this month.

But Kubiak and general manager John Spytek, who were among those in attendance Wednesday To find out about Mendoza at Indiana’s Pro DayHave stated on multiple occasions that they prefer not to start a young quarterback right away this season.

“Ideally, you don’t want him to start the first day,” Kubiak said at the annual league meeting Tuesday. “You’d want him to be able to learn by being behind someone. It’s an ideal world. It doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes they have to play from day one, and it’s our job as a coach to get them ready to go.

“I think it helps the player, though, if they can sit behind a mature adult and see how they run the show.”

During a conversation with ESPN’s Kevin Clark earlier this year, Cousins ​​highlighted the importance of teams waiting before starting a rookie quarterback.

“There was a time when aaron rodgers The draft was prepared and sat for three years. … I also think there was a time when coaches stuck around and a quarterback learned a system and played in that system for most of his career,” Cousins ​​told Clark during an appearance on the “This Is Football” podcast. “The turnover makes it really tough, both as a coach and as teammates, because it’s such a team game. That position requires continuity that you no longer have.”

The Raiders have that continuity. In addition to Cousins, offensive coordinator Andrew Janko and assistant head coach Mike McCoy have worked with Kubiak before and have a good understanding of the offense and his expectations for the quarterback position.

Thursday’s deal comes less than a month after Cousins ​​was released atlanta falconsWho parted ways with the quarterback two years after signing a four-year, $180 million contract.

According to Schefter, the Falcons will pay Cousins ​​$8.7 million in 2026, while the Raiders will pay $1.3 million. Las Vegas also agreed to pay Cousins ​​a fully guaranteed $10 million roster bonus on the third day of the new league year in 2027.

Before adding the cousins, aidan o’connell Was the only quarterback on Las Vegas’ roster after the team’s trade geno smith till New York Jets Last month. The move reunites Cousins ​​with Kubiak, who was the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for three seasons. minnesota vikings (2019-21).

During that time with Kubiak in Minnesota, Cousins ​​passed for 12,089 yards, 94 touchdowns and 26 interceptions and had a completion rate of 67.6%. Kubiak was the offensive coordinator in 2021 when Cousins ​​was named to the Pro Bowl after throwing for 4,221 yards and 33 touchdowns with a passer rating of 103.1 and a completion rate of 66.3%.

Cousins ​​endured an up and down two years in Atlanta. Falcons draft quarterback Michael Penix Jr.. Just six weeks later they signed Cousins ​​– a move that took them by surprise.

Coming off a poor 2023 season with the Vikings, Cousins ​​led the Falcons to a 6–3 mark in 2024, but his performance was hampered by a hand injury. He played five games with nine interceptions before the Falcons benched him in Week 16 and identified Penix as the current and future quarterback.

Cousins ​​returned healthy in 2025, but the Falcons had already made up their mind that Penix was their quarterback. But Penix tore his left ACL in Week 11, and Cousins ​​started the rest of the way, including a four-game winning streak to end the season.

Cousins ​​completed 61.7% of his passes for 1,721 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions last season. His 47.6 QBR ranks him 22nd in the league bryce young.

A fourth-round pick by Washington in the 2012 draft, Cousins ​​has thrown for 44,700 yards with 298 touchdowns and 131 interceptions in 14 seasons in the NFL.

ESPN’s Mark Raimondi contributed to this report.