Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins says he wanted to be a Raider because he wanted to play for new Las Vegas head coach Klint Kubiak.
Kubiak was Cousins’ quarterbacks coach for two seasons and offensive coordinator for one season in Minnesota, on a Vikings staff that also featured Raiders offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko and Raiders offensive line coach Rick Dennison.
“It starts with the coaching staff,” Cousins said in an interview published by the Raiders. “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 Kubiak’s work with Sam Darnold last year in Seattle shows how good he is at helping quarterbacks play at a high level.
“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.”
The in-house Raiders interview didn’t bring up the reality that Cousins is only a placeholder at quarterback in Las Vegas, where Fernando Mendoza is expected to be the first overall draft pick and future of the franchise. But at the moment, Cousins is the No. 1 quarterback on the Raiders’ depth chart, and as long as he has that role, he’s operating in an offense he thinks is a great fit for him.
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