Kirk Cousins credits Klint Kubiak for an OTAs focus that set the tone for the Raiders offseason

The Raiders’ offseason work has been shaped less by any single drill and more by the pace and structure of how the coaching staff asked players to prepare. In comments reported after OTAs, quarterback Kirk Cousins credited first-year head coach Klint Kubiak with running a program that felt focused from the beginning and continued that intensity through the full span of the offseason sessions.

Cousins, who has served as a steady presence at quarterback, described the tone-setting aspect of the work as something that started “from Day One.” According to his account, the staff created a sense of urgency throughout what he characterized as a 10-week program. He said that, as a result, the Raiders believed they got a lot done over the course of OTAs and the broader early offseason work.

The comments matter because the Raiders’ rebuild effort has depended on more than scheme adjustments. It has also required continuity in how the offense prepares, how players process new indicates and responsibilities, and how quickly the team can translate practice habits into game readiness. In that context, Cousins’ emphasis on “urgency” is a window into what veteran leadership and first-year coaching are trying to align: work pace, repetition quality, and accountability from the opening weeks rather than later in the summer.

Kubiak’s offseason reputation as an offensive coach has been tied to how he communicates and organizes preparation, and Cousins’ remarks fit that theme. The reported takeaway is that the head coach did not treat early work as a slow ramp. Instead, the Raiders approached the program as a sequence of tasks that needed to be finished, not just started, and that message was reinforced across the total 10-week period.

For a franchise that has been trying to reestablish its identity on offense, the operational details of offseason programs can have real downstream effects. If the team can compress time spent clarifying base concepts and instead use practice for timing and situational reps, the quarterback and skill players can move faster toward consistency. Cousins’ assessment suggests the staff aimed at exactly that kind of efficiency, with the quarterback’s approval serving as a notable sign that the message resonated in the huddle.

There is also a cultural layer to what Cousins described. A “moribund franchise,” as the report frames the situation going into the rebuilding phase, generally implies a team that has struggled with both performance and the day-to-day habits that support improvement. By emphasizing urgency across the entire program, the coaching staff appears to have tried to reset expectations, not only the playbook. Cousins’ comments indicate that the team believed the organization’s offseason standards were meaningfully different than in prior stretches.

As the Raiders move forward from OTAs into the later stages of the offseason, the next question will be whether the structure Cousins praised carries through to training camp and the regular-season environment. Offseason statements do not automatically become results on Sundays, but they can help explain how a team plans to reduce confusion, tighten execution, and establish a consistent offensive workflow. For observers, Cousins’ crediting of Kubiak is a clear marker of what the Raiders want their preparation to look like and how they hope it will translate once games begin.