Kirk Cousins Heads Back to Minnesota as Raiders Hand the Keys to Rookie QB Fernando Mendoza
The Raiders dealt their 38-year-old bridge quarterback to the Vikings just hours before Tuesday's 4 p.m. deadline, while the Colts stunned no one by keeping Jonathan Taylor and Daniel Jones right where they were.
The NFL's Tuesday trade deadline produced its biggest fireworks in Las Vegas, where the Raiders shipped quarterback Kirk Cousins to the Minnesota Vikings — the team he started for from 2018 through 2023 — clearing the way for rookie first overall pick Fernando Mendoza to take over as the full-time starter.
The move was less a surprise than a formality years in the making. The Raiders signed Cousins back in April specifically to mentor Mendoza through his rookie transition, reuniting him with Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak, who had coached Cousins as the Vikings' quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2021. With the bridge no longer needed, Las Vegas finalized the trade and officially named Mendoza the starter the same day.
FROM A ROOKIE MENTOR TO A ROSTER SPOT BACK HOME — COUSINS' SECOND MINNESOTA TOUR BEGINS NOW.
Cousins wasn't the only veteran on the move Tuesday. The Atlanta Falcons sent cornerback Jessie Bates to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 fifth-rounder, and separately traded starting center Ryan Neuzil to the Baltimore Ravens for guard Andrew Vorhees and a conditional 2028 sixth-round pick, according to ESPN's trade tracker. The Kansas City Chiefs, meanwhile, added Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs — a move the surging 6-2 Chiefs hope pays off the way their Vince Carter-caliber turnaround from 2-7 has gone this season.
Indy Stands Pat on Its Two Biggest Names
In Indianapolis, the other half of the deadline's marquee storyline resolved itself by way of inaction. Despite weeks of trade buzz and reported overtures for both running back Jonathan Taylor and quarterback Daniel Jones, the Colts kept both players on the roster as the deadline passed, ESPN confirmed. Team owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon had signaled in the days leading up to the deadline that she was still "evaluating everyone, from coach Shane Steichen and quarterback Daniel Jones on down," even as the Colts moved on from other veterans, including guard Quenton Nelson and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, earlier in the week.
Holding onto Taylor in particular drew attention given the scale of Indy's roster teardown elsewhere, but rival executives had reportedly been skeptical the Colts would deal their franchise back at anything less than a premium price — and apparently nobody paid it.