The Las Vegas Raiders have traded their starting quarterback, Kirk Cousins, to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a third-round pick. 

For the Raiders, this trade makes sense. They have lost five of their last six games and are 4-5. Las Vegas is on the bubble as the No. 9 seed in the AFC and third in the AFC West. With Cousins now with the Vikings, No. 1 overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza will now take over as the starting quarterback. He will face the Seattle Seahawks' “Dark Side” defense in his first game this Sunday.

On the other side of this trade, it was clear Minnesota needed a quarterback after Carson Wentz’ performance on Monday Night Football with a QBR of 2.3 and a completion percentage of 32 percent. Kyler Murray had not been much better for the Vikings, with only five touchdowns in six games. 

Cousins has experience in Minnesota, serving as the team's quarterback from 2018 to 2023. During that time, he won 50 of his 88 starts, completed 67.9 percent of his passes, threw for 23,265 yards, 171 touchdowns, and only 55 interceptions. All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson had some of his best seasons with Cousins at quarterback, including finishing fifth in the MVP voting in 2022 when he led the league in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns.

Minnesota has a realistic chance of making the playoffs with a 6-2 record and the NFL's best defense. Now that they have a quarterback, this team becomes incredibly dangerous in a highly competitive NFC North.