Kirk Cousins says his sons chose Minnesota move after Vikings trade

Kirk Cousins said at a Minnesota Vikings press conference on Nov. 11 that his sons chose to move from Las Vegas with him after the Raiders traded him to Minnesota the previous day. His wife, Julie, asked the boys whether they wanted to stay or go with their father; Cousins said they answered, “Let’s go.”

• Cousins said he left the family’s next move to Julie, who was concerned about disrupting the boys’ school, baseball and friendships in Las Vegas.
• After the trade was finalized, Julie explained the situation to Cooper and Turner and asked what they wanted to do.
• Cousins said his wife and sons were already looking into their next home in Minnesota as he spoke to reporters.

People reported that Cousins described the conversation at the Nov. 11 press conference. He said he hoped his family would come with him, but told Julie the choice was hers. Julie picked up Cooper, 9, and Turner, 7, from school after the Raiders finalized the deal, told them their father had been traded to Minnesota and asked whether they preferred to remain in Las Vegas or relocate with him. Cousins said both boys replied, “Let’s go.”

Cousins’s account leaves the family’s move date and final housing arrangements unsettled. People also reported that it was not yet clear whether he would start for Minnesota against Green Bay on Sunday, Nov. 15.

What Cousins said about returning to Minnesota

In a separate account, ESPN reported that Cousins stopped at Great Clips after the trade and spoke about returning to the Vikings, whom he quarterbacked from 2018 to 2023. He said Minnesota held many memories and that succeeding there would be special, while acknowledging that work remained on the field. He told Minnesota fans he was thrilled to return and hoped to continue a story that began when he first arrived eight or nine years earlier.

ESPN also reported Cousins’s thanks to Raiders fans, teammates and the organization for welcoming him during his several months in Las Vegas. He described mixed emotions: leaving people in Las Vegas was difficult, and so had been leaving people in Minnesota three years earlier. His remarks offer context for the move’s significance to him, while the family’s decision, as he recounted it, centered on whether Julie and their sons would join him.

What it means for the family

The boys’ answer settled the immediate question of whether they wanted to relocate with their father. Cousins’s account also described Julie weighing that move against the children’s established school and activities in Las Vegas. The family was beginning to work out housing in Minnesota, but the practical arrangements were still in progress as he spoke.