Vikings trade for Kirk Cousins and 49ers add Keenan Allen as Brewers skipper Pat Murphy wins historic third straight MLB award

A dramatic reunion in Minnesota and a first-ever milestone in Major League Baseball headlined the American sports calendar on Wednesday, as the Minnesota Vikings brought back veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins in a buzzer-beating NFL trade-deadline deal with the Las Vegas Raiders while Milwaukee Brewers skipper Pat Murphy became the first manager in baseball history to capture three consecutive Manager of the Year awards.

Minnesota shipped a 2027 third-round draft pick to Las Vegas to reacquire the 38-year-old Cousins, turning back to a familiar signal-caller who spent six prolific seasons in purple from 2018 through 2023 to stabilize a 6–2 Vikings squad battered by quarterback injuries and offensive stalls — most visibly in Minnesota’s lopsided loss to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills entering deadline day.

Cousins reunites with Justin Jefferson as NFL contenders load up

Cousins steps back into Kevin O’Connell’s timing-based passing attack ahead of Sunday’s NFC North road test at Green Bay, reuniting immediately with All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson. For Las Vegas, dealing Cousins clears the runway to hand the offense full-time to rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza, this year’s No. 1 overall NFL Draft selection.

Across the league, Super Bowl hopefuls executed a flurry of final-hour acquisitions before the deadline horn sounded:

• San Francisco 49ers acquire Keenan Allen: San Francisco sent a 2027 sixth-round pick to the Indianapolis Colts for the 34-year-old six-time Pro Bowl receiver. Allen, who ranks eighth in NFL history with 1,095 career receptions and posted 40 catches for 351 yards across eight games this fall, bolsters a 49ers passing game tied atop the league standings.
• Buffalo Bills land safety Amani Hooker: Fresh off beating Minnesota, Buffalo dealt a second-round pick to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for Hooker and a fifth-round pick, adding a 28-year-old ballhawk whose five interceptions tie for the NFL lead.
• Kansas City Chiefs add receiver Josh Downs: Kansas City tapped Indianapolis’s roster selloff as well, acquiring dynamic slot target Josh Downs, while the Miami Dolphins placed injured quarterback Malik Willis on injured reserve for at least four games with a groin injury and turned to backup Kyle McCord.

Pat Murphy makes MLB history after Brewers’ first World Series title

On the baseball diamond, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America crowned Milwaukee’s Pat Murphy the 2026 National League Manager of the Year — making him the first skipper in either league to win the honor three years running after claiming back-to-back trophies in 2024 and 2025.

Accepting the award while recovering in a hospital bed this week, Murphy capped an unforgettable autumn in Wisconsin: after guiding Milwaukee to a franchise-record 103 regular-season victories and MLB’s best overall record, he steered the Brewers past the Tampa Bay Rays two weeks ago to capture the first World Series championship in franchise history.

In the American League, Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable captured AL Manager of the Year honors after orchestrating a remarkable turnaround to an 84–78 finish and Chicago’s first postseason berth since 2021. Elsewhere around baseball, reigning ace free-agent left-hander Tarik Skubal scheduled meetings with six clubs — headlined by the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres — even as owners and players brace for a pivotal December 1 collective-bargaining expiration, while baseball mourned seven-time Gold Glove catcher and 1980 Phillies World Series champion Bob Boone, who died at age 78.