Kirk Cousins will be the starting quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders when they open the season. That is not the outcome anyone in Vegas was hoping for a year ago when they signed him to a massive contract.
Cousins was supposed to be the veteran bridge who would win now while Antonio Pierce built the roster. Instead, last year turned into a disaster with injuries and poor play, and now Cousins gets one more shot to prove he is still that guy.
The Raiders had every chance to look elsewhere this offseason. They stayed the course because Cousins looked healthy in camp and the alternatives on the roster were not exactly inspiring.
Whatever confidence exists in Cousins is based on the assumption that a full offseason and a healthy Achilles will get him back to being the reliable pocket passer he was in Minnesota for years.
Pierce has been publicly supportive but the pressure is on. Vegas is not going to run this experiment out for another full season if the results do not show up quickly. Ownership is not that patient.
The AFC West is brutal as always. The Chiefs are the Chiefs. The Chargers have Justin Herbert and a real defense. Denver has Bo Nix looking like a top-10 quarterback. Vegas cannot afford to be the fourth-place team in that division again.
Cousins needs weapons and the Raiders have some. Brock Bowers is a stud tight end, Jakobi Meyers is a reliable target, and the running back situation looks better than last year. If the offensive line holds up, this could work.
The bigger question is how much longer Cousins even wants to do this. He is 38, has already been paid a small fortune, and does not seem to enjoy losing. Another rough season and he could hang it up.
For now, he is QB1 in Vegas. Week 1 will tell us everything about whether that is a good decision or a disaster in the making.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
