Is Kirk Cousins Playing Today? (Update, Betting Impact for Vikings vs. Packers in NFL Week 10)

The Minnesota Vikings orchestrated a massive trade ahead of Tuesday's deadline, acquiring veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a third-round pick.

Cousins, who spent multiple seasons with the Vikings earlier in his career, is viewed as a clear upgrade over Carson Wentz and the injured Kyler Murray as Minnesota (6-2) chases a playoff spot in the NFC.

Even though he was acquired on Tuesday, Cousins is expected to start in a huge divisional matchup against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins will officially start Sunday’s game at Green Bay.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 13, 2026

In Week 10, the Vikings are underdogs against the Packers, but that line has actually kept moving in their favor since the Cousins deal. Following Monday's loss to Buffalo, DraftKings Sportsbook had moved the Vikings to 4.5-point underdogs on the road after they opened as three-point underdogs. The line shifted to 3.5 on Wednesday and went back down to the original number (Vikings +3) on Thursday.

Now, the Vikings are just 2.5-point underdogs on the road against the 6-3 Packers.

The deal for Cousins also positively impacted the Vikings in the futures market.

“This week the Cousins one was the biggest,” Johnny Avello, Director of Race and Sports Operations for DraftKings Sportsbook, told Sports Illustrated when asked about the impact of the deadline. “That took Minnesota down from, about 28/1 to 22/1. And just because Carson Wentz looked so bad on Monday night, I think that also was a reason why we reacted and the bettors also reacted to playing it.”

The NFC North race is extremely tough with all four teams picking up at least six wins in the first nine weeks of the season. The worry is that their head-to-head matchups could doom a couple teams in the playoff race, but the Vikings already have wins over Green Bay and Chicago this season.

"Without a doubt the big mover was the Vikings and Kirk Cousins,” Ty Gour, Sports Trader at Fanatics Sportsbook, told Sports Illustrated about the biggest deal at the deadline. “It wasn't a huge shift odds-wise. They went from +2600 to +2200 in the Super Bowl odds, +1200 to +950 in the NFC and the NFC North was +400 to +330. And what that did for our power ratings, it essentially leveled the Lions, Packers and Vikings, pretty much grouping them all into one bunch.

“The kind of the reason for that is there's a pretty good chance that they're going to cannibalize each other down the stretch here. So, we don't want to really jump and call one team a playoff team or Super Bowl contender because the reality is that the division is so tough.”

This season, Cousins had led the Raiders to a 4-5 start, throwing for 2,340 yards, 20 scores and eight picks. He should be a massive upgrade at quarterback for a Vikings team that is 31st in the NFL in EPA/Play on offense and 30th in success rate.

It'll be interesting to see how the veteran quarterback fares in his first game back with one of his former teams. Vikings fans are hoping he can lead the team to a win and snap a two-game skid.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Claim the latest DraftKings promo code offer today. Sign up and get $200 in bonus bets + 3 months of NBA League Pass when you make your first $5 bet.

Add us as a preferred source on Google