New city, stadium and jersey for Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Old play-caller and scheme.
Mostly.
“There’s plenty that that wasn’t when I arrived, and plenty that I needed to learn,” Cousins said Wednesday at the dais inside Intermountain Health Performance Center. “So, that’s what it’s been about — is trying to get that to be total ownership. And now getting individual game plans, having total ownership because training camp is more just installing your systems and now it’s about game planning and just continuing to build on the foundation we’ve laid.”
In laying a foundation alongside the Raiders, Cousins is building on the foundation he established with coach Klint Kubiak during their three-year tenure with the Minnesota Vikings. His veteran poise, built through 14 years with Minnesota, Washington and Atlanta, have helped him reclaim ownership over Kubiak’s offense without missing a beat.
Sharp in practices and preseason play — with his timing, rhythm and accuracy — Cousins is poised to start Sunday afternoon against the Miami Dolphins at Allegiant Stadium, keeping top pick Fernando Mendoza developing on the sideline so long as he’s effective.
“He’s a better leader (compared to when I coached him before) and he’s more urgent than ever,” Kubiak said, preceding Cousins at the podium.
“When you play a lot of football, you realize that sometimes what’s said in the meeting on Wednesday, ‘Hey, this is what we think we’re going to do on third-and-10,’ they don’t do that. You have to adjust. So he’s very confident in what he wants. What he wants it to look like. Where he wants the receivers to be at. Where the (hot reads) are. How we want to address protection.”
Kubiak called plays for Cousins in 2021 as the Vikings’ offensive coordinator, working as his quarterbacks coach the prior two years with great success. Cousins was a Pro Bowl honoree in 2019 (3,603 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, six interceptions) and 2021 (4,221 passing yards, 33 touchdowns, seven interceptions) — sandwiching those two standout seasons around a career-high 35-touchdown campaign in 2020.
No, his right arm might not be as live it was when he played for Minnesota, but his mind is sharpened by two more seasons — emboldened by his comfort in Kubiak’s scheme.
“I don’t think he’s ever felt like he’s arrived or that he can just put it to bed and just let the system be what it is,” Cousins said, asked what makes Kubiak effective as a coach. “I think he’s always trying to evolve it. I think he’s a great listener. I think he can adapt, I think details matter to him, situations and there’s urgency with Klint. So, there’s a lot of traits that you want to feel and see from your head coach and from your coaching staff.”
Familiarity, as nice as it is, won’t buoy the offense by itself and Cousins knows he bears the onus to channel his momentum into the season. For all that’s old hat under Kubiak, there’s a lot that’s new for Cousins in Las Vegas “where you kind of have to say, ‘OK, what is it like here? What’s our daily rhythm here?’ And you kind of learn your team as you go.”
He knows the principles of the position he plays.
“I think it’s always going to be about some of the same things no matter what time of the year it is or who you’re playing,” Cousins said. “You’ve got to lead well. You’ve got to elevate the other 10 guys in the huddle and the rest of the locker room with the way you lead and your presence. You’ve got to be tough physically, mentally, emotionally. You’ve got to protect the football — and you just have to run the operation well.”
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on X.
