Raiders Get Significant Bang for Their Buck with Cousins Signing

The Las Vegas Raiders have begun solidifying their depth at multiple position groups.

Raiders' Roster Rollout

Las Vegas has made more significant signings this offseason, than the addition of Kirk Cousins. Yet, adding Cousins was as much a part of the Raiders' offseason plans as all of the other changes that have been made. By adding Cousins, the Raiders buy more time for Fernando Mendoza.

The Raiders will also get a quarterback who has started plenty of games around the league. It would not be unreasonable to see Cousins play for much of the first half of the season, if not more, depending on how hard wins are to come by for the Raiders early on.

Still, whether the Raiders begin the season winning or losing, they would have a decision to make. If Cousins leads them to wins early on, it would make little sense to bench him. If the Raiders are losing early on, throwing a rookie quarterback on the field does not make much sense either.

Cousins gives the Raiders a quarterback who is more than familiar with Kubiak. If the Raiders have a productive offseason training program, he could very well lead the Raiders to wins, buying Mendoza even more time to quietly develop in the background. That would be ideal for Mendoza.

League insider Tom Pelissero noted that Cousins had some of the best seasons of his career with Kubiak and Janocko when all three were previously with the Minnesota Vikings. Cousins' arrival to Las Vegas should be no surprise, as the Raiders were in search of a veteran quarterback.

"Kirk Cousins had one of his best seasons playing with Klint Kubak as his offensive coordinator in Minnesota. It's where Cousins won his first playoff game over the [New Orleans] Saints. They were in the game the following week against the [San Franciso] 49ers before they kind of ran out of gas. Cousins has played well in this system," Pelissero said.

Based on the value Cousins brings to Kubiak and potentially, Mendoza, it could quietly be one of the Raiders' more valuable signings in the long run, in terms of them getting the best bang for their bucks. They will get Cousins' services with the Atlanta Falcons, helping foot the bill. That is also a win.

Cousins recently explained that Kubiak's presence played a significant role in his decision to join the Raiders. The relationship between Kubiak, Cousins, and Janocko, cannot be understated.

“It starts with the coaching staff. I was really excited to work with coaches I’ve worked with before in Klint Kubiak, Rick Dennison, Andrew Janocko. I had some of my best years playing with them. Coaching is a big deal in this league, so getting around them excited me. I think it’s a team that has a lot of young talent and they’re building something special, and I want to be a part of that," Cousins said after signing with the Raiders.

“I can talk about him all I want, but my actions really show what I think of him, by being here,” Cousins said of Kubiak. “Great football mind, hard working, there’s a humility there that I deeply respect. He’s a great question-asker who wants to do what the quarterback’s comfortable with.”