{"id":850463,"date":"2026-04-03T01:49:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T01:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/850463\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T01:49:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T01:49:19","slug":"packers-top-anthony-richardson-team-after-raiders-ink-cousins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/850463\/","title":{"rendered":"Packers Top Anthony Richardson Team After Raiders Ink Cousins"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Former\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The Green Bay Packers<\/a> were legitimately in on Kirk Cousins<\/a> as their backup quarterback this offseason, but fell short when the 14-year NFL<\/a> veteran signed a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders<\/a> Thursday.<\/p>\n

Dianna Russini reported<\/a> the Packers were among three teams interested in Cousins, who would have served as QB2 in Green Bay behind Jordan Love<\/a>. The other two were the Los Angeles Rams<\/a>, who were also looking for a backup, and the Arizona Cardinals<\/a>, where Cousins might have gotten the chance to start if he could beat out Jacoby Brissett<\/a> and Gardner Minshew<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Las Vegas sealed the deal by signing Cousins to a monster contract, which is actually considerably smaller than its stated figures initially appear on paper.<\/p>\n

\u201cComp update: Kirk Cousins<\/a> will sign a five-year, $172 million deal with the Raiders that in reality is a one-year, fully-guaranteed $20 million deal that also contains a club option for two years at $80M,\u201d ESPN\u2019s Adam Schefter reported via X<\/a>. \u201cThe Falcons<\/a> will pay Cousins $8.7 million this season, the Raiders another $1.3 million and Las Vegas also agreed to pay its new QB a fully-guaranteed $10 million roster bonus on the third day of the 2027 new league year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Raiders\u2019 willingness to go up to a $20 million figure for Cousins, and fully guarantee it, indicates that the team sees him as its starting option at least in Week 1, and likely for multiple games moving forward in 2026. Las Vegas owns the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft and will almost certainly select Fernando Mendoza<\/a>, who will eventually usurp Cousins as QB1.<\/p>\n

With Cousins now out of the mix, Adam Wells of Bleacher Report named Green Bay as the top landing spot for Anthony Richardson<\/a> of the Indianapolis Colts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Anthony Richardson Not Packers\u2019 Only QB2 Option This Offseason\"The<\/p>\n

GettyIndianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson.<\/p>\n

Wells made his argument on Thursday, April 2 following Cousins\u2019 decision to join the Raiders.<\/p>\n

\u201cRichardson, in particular, would fit the model of what Green Bay likes to do with the backup quarterback spot.\u201d Wells wrote<\/a>. \u201cPutting Richardson with head coach Matt LaFleur<\/a> could go a long way toward helping him hone his skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wells also noted quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo<\/a> and Russell Wilson<\/a> as potential fits in Green Bay, though he mentioned Richardson\u2019s name first.<\/p>\n

Anthony Richardson Has Been Available on Trade Market for More Than a Month
\n\"Anthony<\/p>\n

GettyQuarterback Anthony Richardson of the Indianapolis Colts.<\/p>\n

The Colts drafted Richardson with the No. 4 overall pick in 2023, but injuries hampered him during his first season while poor play earned him a benching in 2024.<\/p>\n

Daniel Jones<\/a> joined the fray during the 2025 preseason and beat Richardson out for the QB1 job. Indianapolis granted Richardson permission to seek a trade during the NFL combine in late February, though nothing firm has yet materialized.<\/p>\n

Richardson is entering the final season of his four-year rookie contract in 2026, which is worth a total of $34 million<\/a>. A fifth-year team option for 2027 is also part of the deal, as the QB is a former first-round pick.<\/p>\n

That option carries a cost of nearly $22.5 million and whichever team holds Richardson\u2019s rights will have until May 1 of this year to exercise it. Otherwise, Richardson will become an unrestricted free agent next spring as he heads into his age-25 campaign.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMax Dible<\/a> covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Packers\n\t\t<\/p>\n

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