​The Minnesota Vikings made a move to acquire quarterback Kirk Cousins from the Las Vegas Raiders at the NFL trade deadline, sending a third-round pick to the Raiders in return.The deal followed the Vikings’ miserable Week 9 Monday night loss to the Buffalo Bills, where Minnesota managed just six points in a 17-point defeat. Carson Wentz managed just 81 passing yards before being benched for Max Brosmer.That appeared to be the tipping point for the Vikings, who started the 2026 campaign 6-0 but have now lost two games in a row to watch their NFC North lead disappear.However, Minnesota had apparently reached a boiling before before the Bills loss, according to NFL insiders Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport.Minnesota Vikings tried to trade for Kirk Cousins earlierOct 23, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) warms up before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY SportsEvidently, the Vikings reached out to the Raiders before Monday night’s disaster.“The first time the Vikings reached out to the Raiders about a potential trade for Kirk Cousins was midday Monday, hours before Minnesota played the Bills on ‘Monday Night Football,’ league sources told ESPN and NFL Network,” Schefter and Rapoport wrote. “During that call, the Vikings made it clear to the Raiders that they wanted to see how Monday night went first before having any further conversations about Cousins, but they would be in touch if needed.”Obviously, things ended up going very south for the Vikings in that game, so that was when they ultimately decided to pull the trigger.Of course, Minnesota may have incidentally given Las Vegas more leverage in those trade discussions considering just how bad the Vikings looked under center on Monday, but a third-round pick seemed like a small price to pay for Minnesota.Cousins is now in his second stint with the Vikings after spending six years with the club between 2018 and 2023.The 38-year-old is certainly armed with an impressive stable of weapons in Minnesota, so we’ll see if he can ultimately lead the Vikings on a deep playoff run.More NFL NewsMinnesota Vikings’ Injury Situation Just Got Even WorseBuffalo Bills Linked to Dynamic Addition to Help Josh AllenDeshaun Watson Drops Blunt Message on Browns FutureThe post Minnesota Vikings’ Kirk Cousins Trade Features Interesting Twist appeared first on Gridiron Heroics.