Kirk Cousins returned to the Minnesota Vikings this week after a trade, and he immediately set out to reclaim the No. 8 jersey he wore during his previous six seasons with the team. The number had gone to rookie safety Jakobe Thomas, who picked it up after joining the Vikings earlier this year.
Cousins told reporters Wednesday he expected a straightforward swap. “I’m confident that Jakobe and I can have a healthy, mature conversation and figure this out,” he said, a comment widely understood to mean Thomas would be compensated for giving up the number, as is common practice among NFL players.
Cousins texted Thomas early Wednesday to start that conversation. By Thursday’s practice, Cousins was wearing No. 8 and Thomas had switched to No. 6 — but no money changed hands.
Thomas explained he decided before Cousins even asked that he would simply hand the number back.
“We trade, Kirko gets here. I look at and I’m just, ‘Yup, he’s probably going to ask me about it,'” Thomas said. “And I was just, ‘He’s got more memories with the number than I do and it’s his number right now.’ He’s got more of a reputation than I do so let’s just give it up.”
“No money needed. I just need him to come here and win games. I don’t want any money. I don’t need anything. Just win games. … It’s rightfully his.”
The gesture carries some weight given the gap in pay between the two players. Cousins, 38, is in his 15th NFL season and has earned roughly $322 million over his career. Thomas is on his first NFL contract, making $1.32 million this season.
Cousins was traded to the Vikings this week from the Las Vegas Raiders, who turned to Fernando Mendoza as their starting quarterback.
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