Big NFL quarterback trade brings back bad memories for the Packers ahead of NFC North showdown at Lambeau Field
Minnesota acquired veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins from the Las Vegas Raiders, and he is expected to start against Green Bay on Sunday.
The Green Bay Packers are about to face a familiar quarterback in an unfamiliar situation. The Minnesota Vikings acquired quarterback Kirk Cousins from the Las Vegas Raiders for a third-round pick, and the move brings back some bad memories from Green Bay’s recent history.
Cousins is back in Minnesota after a winding route. He played for the Vikings from 2018-23, spent two years with the Atlanta Falcons, and then played the first half of this season with the Raiders. Now he is expected to start against the Packers on Sunday at Lambeau Field in place of Carson Wentz, who had a rough performance against the Buffalo Bills on “Monday Night Football.”
A pattern Green Bay knows well
This is certainly not the first time a team has acquired a quarterback and immediately started him against the Packers. In at least two recent examples, those quarterbacks had success.
Back in 2016, Minnesota was also the team making the move. The Vikings acquired quarterback Sam Bradford from the Philadelphia Eagles right after losing Teddy Bridgewater to a season-ending knee injury. Bradford made his first start for Minnesota 15 days after the trade, in Week 2 against the Packers, and the Vikings won 17-14.
Bradford had a great performance in that game. He completed 22-of-31 passes for 286 yards, two touchdown passes, and no interceptions, finishing with a 121.2 passer rating.
The second example came last season. The Cincinnati Bengals acquired veteran Joe Flacco from a divisional rival, the Cleveland Browns, to replace Jake Browning, who had been playing for Cincinnati after Joe Burrow got hurt. Green Bay won that game 27-18, but Flacco clearly gave the Bengals a much better version of their offense.
Against the Packers specifically, Flacco completed 29-of-45 passes for 219 yards, two touchdown passes, and no interceptions. He posted a 90.9 passer rating.
The Packers still came out on top in that matchup. The broader point is that a newly acquired quarterback doesn’t necessarily need a long runway to cause problems.
Cousins knows the offense and his (old) new teammates
Cousins will essentially have five days of notice ahead of the Packers game. On paper, that is a short window for a quarterback to absorb a new playbook and build timing with his receivers.
But Cousins doesn’t need to learn much. He already played under Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell for two seasons, in 2022 and 2023, so he knows the system. The usual learning curve that comes with a midseason trade is far smaller in this case.
He also knows the key players well. Cousins played four years with wide receiver Justin Jefferson, one season with Jordan Addison, and a season and a half with tight end T.J. Hockenson. Those are the three most important pieces of the Minnesota passing game, and all of them have experience catching passes from Cousins.
That familiarity is what separates this situation from a typical quarterback trade. Bradford had to learn an entirely new offense and new teammates in 15 days. Cousins walks into a building where he already knows the terminology, the coaching staff, and most of the receivers.
A tougher challenge for the Packers
For Green Bay, the Vikings are no longer the team that struggled with Wentz under center against Buffalo. Minnesota now has a veteran who spent six seasons as its starter, operating in a system he already ran at a high level under O’Connell.
The ramp-up period should be much easier for Cousins than it was for Bradford in 2016 or Flacco last season. And with a big NFC North matchup at Lambeau Field on Sunday, the Packers have to prepare for a quarterback who can run the Minnesota offense right away, not one still figuring it out.
