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Vikings Trade for Kirk Cousins After Wentz's MNF Struggles
· Confirmed
In Short: The Minnesota Vikings made a significant move by acquiring quarterback Kirk Cousins from the Raiders in exchange for a third-round pick, following Carson Wentz's poor performance against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football.
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The Minnesota Vikings made a significant move by acquiring quarterback Kirk Cousins from the Raiders in exchange for a third-round pick, following Carson Wentz's poor performance against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football.
Wentz, who started in place of the injured Kyler Murray, completed only 8 of 25 passes for 81 yards, with no touchdowns and three turnovers, leading to a 23-6 loss.
The Vikings' offense struggled to sustain drives, relying heavily on their defense to keep them in games.
Wentz's performance was met with boos from the home crowd, and he acknowledged his struggles, saying, "To go kind of lay an egg, personally, the way I struggled early, especially with our defense playing as good as they’ve been all year, honestly."
The trade deadline saw the Vikings make the biggest move of the day, adding Cousins to bolster their struggling offense.
In addition to the Vikings, the Buffalo Bills also made a significant move, acquiring safety Amani Hooker from the Titans in exchange for a fifth-round pick and a second-round selection.
Former NFL player Bryant McFadden criticized Wentz's performance, saying, "I like to apologize because I remember a week ago after the loss to Detroit, I stated and said I felt like Carson Wentz potentially could give them better production at the quarterback position, the Minnesota Vikings, and I lied. I lied to all of you guys, and I embraced that lie. Unfortunately, I didn’t know any better."
What this adds
The trade for Cousins marks a significant shift in the Vikings' strategy to improve their offense, following Wentz's poor performance.
The Vikings' decision to trade for Cousins was widely anticipated by fans and media after Wentz's struggles against the Bills.
Background
The Minnesota Vikings traded for quarterback Kirk Cousins after Carson Wentz's poor performance against the Buffalo Bills.
Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell announced Thursday that veteran quarterback Carson Wentz will start in place of Kyler Murray, who is sidelined with a hamstring strain.
What's confirmed
- “This one felt pretty terrible. I’m not going to lie,” Wentz said, via the Associated Press.
- “To go kind of lay an egg, personally, the way I struggled early, especially with our defense playing as good as they’ve been all year, honestly,” Wentz said.
What's still developing
- Here's a quick recap of all the trades Vikings-Raiders Vikings get: Kirk Cousins Raiders get: 2027 third-round pick Colts-49ers Colts get: 2027 sixth-round pick 49ers get: WR Keenan Allen Colts-Chiefs Colts get: 2027 fourth-round pick, 2027 fifth-rounder Chiefs get: Josh Downs, 2027 seventh-round pick Bills-Titans Bills get: S Amani Hooker, 2027 fifth-round pick Titans get: 2027 second-round pick Chargers-Broncos Broncos get: LB Daiyan Henley Chargers get: 2027 fourth-round pick and 2028 fifth-round pick The Bengals tried to make the trade with the Eagles, but they called the deal off after realizing it would cost them a third-round compensatory pick.
- The Minnesota Vikings, coming off of their first loss of the 2026 regular season, will make their first prime time appearance of the year against one of the National Football League’s best teams.
- Both Wentz and Murray have now struggled this season in a Vikings uniform, and whilst third-stringer Max Brosmer showed out late on in lieu of Wentz, fans will not quickly forget his four-interception game against the Seattle Seahawks in his first-ever start on Nov. 30 2025, which also saw him make one of the more iconic mishap-plays of the season.
- As a result, Vikings fans and media alike have been imploring and predicting that the team makes a move for quarterback Kirk Cousins in the wake of the 23-6 defeat.
- All season long, the story has been the offense’s struggles marring elite defensive performances.
- Jones ranks 19th with 1,722 and a dismal 68.9 rating.
- And speaking to Pat McAfee at the start of the fourth quarter of the game, NFL insider Ian Rapoport stated that the Vikings are going to “explore their options” at the position.
- But at this point it feels like if the Vikings are going to seriously compete this season, they may have to make a deal at the eleventh hour to upgrade the most important position.
- What we saw over the past 24 hours left me with more questions than answers.
- The Vikings reunited with quarterback Kirk Cousins for a third-round selection, but the biggest moves ended up taking place Monday, when the Jaguars sent out a first-round pick and two second-round selections to land Jordan Davis and Jessie Bates III.
- But the Vikings should really consider making a trade for a quarterback on Tuesday if it wants to salvage its season – or just give its fanbase an offense worth cheering for.
- Like most teams, the Bills found no success on the ground against a stout Vikings front.
Sources
- Chicagotribunelink
- Fox Newslink
- Heavy.comlink
- Nbcsportslink
- Pro Football Networklink
- Thevikingagelink
- CBS Sportslink
- WarpBeat — background on Vikings Trade for Kirk Cousins After Wentz's Struggles link
- WarpBeat — background on Vikings to Start Wentz Against Bills With Murray Out link
- ESPN — video link
- ESPN — video link
- The Pat McAfee Show — video link
- Sports Wars — video link