Vikings won't commit to Kirk Cousins starting vs. Packers, but QB eager to play for Minnesota again

Kirk Cousins is back in Minnesota and already making a difference.

For one, the Packers have adjusted their planning for Sunday's meeting at Lambeau Field with the full expectation Cousins will start for the Vikings five days after being traded north from Las Vegas.

"He'll be starting," Packers coach Matt LaFleur told reporters Wednesday. "I'm fairly confident of that.”

While the turnaround is quick, LaFleur is justified in expecting Cousins to start. The quarterback is uniquely familiar with Kevin O'Connell's offense from their time spent together from 2022-23 (including a 13-4 finish in 2022), he's demonstrated he certainly still has the capabilities required of an effective starting quarterback, and he's walking into a situation so dire, the 6-2 Vikings essentially have no choice but to play him on a short week against a divisional rival in a hotly contested NFC North.

Unsurprisingly, O'Connell didn't commit to Cousins starting on Sunday in Green Bay. But we all know it's the goal, if not the plan.

“It’s still too early to commit wholeheartedly to what the plan on Sunday looks like," O'Connell said Wednesday, "but I will say [we’re] excited about the opportunity of spending every moment we can between now and then to get him comfortable and allow him to play for us this Sunday. That’s what we’re working towards, but also want to be fair to Kirk and make sure he feels good about it going to Lambeau Field.”

The setting of Lambeau Field has its own special meaning to Cousins, and it isn't necessarily the good kind. Lambeau is where Cousins played his final snap as a Minnesota Viking in 2023 and where he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury, which also limited his effectiveness in his next stop, Atlanta, in 2024, sending him down a winding road that included backup duties with the Falcons in 2025 before joining the Raiders as a bridge starter in 2026.

"Knowing where that's where I was carted off -- I had thoughts of 'is this my last game? Is this my last game as a Viking?'" Cousins said Wednesday in his return to Minnesota. "Going back there wearing purple and gold, it has meaning. But you have to make it have meaning with the way you play."

All of that is in the past now, though. Cousins is back in Minneapolis, where he said Wednesday his kids were eager to move with him in what amounts to somewhat of a homecoming. It's also where Vikings fans are hoping he can play savior to a season that carries great promise but also a clear anchor in the form of an anemic offense led by Carson Wentz that elicited boos from the home crowd in Monday night's loss to Buffalo and prompted Minnesota's front office to acquire the 38-year-old quarterback.

“It’s great to have him back in the building," O'Connell said. "You feel his energy right away.”

Cousins arrives with plenty of experience, a deep understanding of the offense in which he'll be operating, and a familiarity with Minnesota's top weapon, receiver Justin Jefferson, who has had plenty of reason to feel frustrated with how this season is going for the Vikings when possessing the ball. Monday night stands as a perfect example: Jefferson was targeted 11 times and caught just three of those passes for 58 yards -- a total that accounted for nearly one-third of Minnesota's entire offensive production on the night.

When Jefferson and Cousins last played a full season together, the receiver posted the best season of his career: 128 catches, 1,809 yards and eight receiving touchdowns. He finished with a first-team All-Pro selection, NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors and even attracted some votes for NFL MVP.

It's fair to expect Jefferson to be both ecstatic about Cousins' return and to expect plenty of opportune targets going forward.

"For me, with Justin, it's play to play," Cousins said of Jefferson. "Play in, play out, you're going where reads take you. ... You don't go chasing things, but you also understand the player that he is, you go where the reads take you and he tends to make you right when throwing the ball in his direction."

In the short term, the Vikings have acquired a theoretical solution to their season-long problem. After following his former Vikings offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, to Las Vegas, Cousins has found another familiar home in O'Connell and Minnesota. And the hope is the combination of the two will revive this offense and turn the Vikings -- a team with a Super Bowl-caliber defense -- into the title contender they believe they can be.

“Similar to Klint, Kevin knows me" Cousins said. "Kevin knows what I do well. Kevin knows what I don’t do well. Kevin knows what I can handle. Kevin knows what I can’t handle. I think that helps, not just that he knows your strengths, but that he knows your weaknesses, and as a result he’s gonna try to protect you. I think the fact that he knows me well, the good about me and the bad about me, I think should help us.”

Whether O'Connell is willing to confirm it as of Wednesday, the Vikings will proceed forward with Cousins as QB1. Kyler Murray -- their previous chosen solution for their quarterback conundrum -- is expected to be Cousins' backup whenever he's healthy enough to suit up. And just maybe, the great ill of the 2026 season -- a legendary defense being wasted by an inferior offense -- might finally be remedied.