The Raiders have already identified their quarterback of the future, but Kirk Cousins is the one set to open next season under center.
Las Vegas used the first overall pick in the 2026 draft on Fernando Mendoza, yet Mendoza won’t be the starter right away. The job belongs to Cousins, whom the Raiders targeted in free agency as their veteran answer. That leaves one clear question hanging over Cousins as he enters his 15th NFL season: what can he still prove in Las Vegas?
CBS Sports’ Bryan DeArdo recently released quarterback tiers for next season’s starters, and Cousins landed at the bottom of the list in the group labeled “holdovers and placeholders.” DeArdo pointed to Cousins’ uneven stretch over the past two seasons, writing, "In 2023, Cousins was playing some of the best football of his life before an injury prematurely ended his season.
Cousins continued to deal with injuries in 2024, which led to him losing his starting job to Michael Penix Jr. He parlayed his success last season (after Penix sustained a season-ending injury) into his current placeholder position in Las Vegas"
Whatever the long-term verdict on Cousins’ career ends up being, one thing is already clear: he has done extremely well financially. His career earnings are roughly $341.5 million, which puts him second only to Aaron Rodgers. Even more striking, 99% of that money has been fully guaranteed.
That kind of contract history has become part of Cousins’ football identity. He may not have piled up the sort of on-field accolades that define the elite at the position, but he has built a career around reliability and leverage, and that has kept him in rare company.
Now the window in Las Vegas is limited. Mendoza is waiting in the wings, and the source material makes it clear that it’s only a matter of time before he gets his chance. Cousins is under contract with the Raiders through 2027, but next season could be the last time he gets a true starting shot.
So the task is straightforward. Cousins has to show he can still function as a starter in this league if he wants the market to keep treating him like one. No one is projecting him as a Super Bowl-level quarterback, but he can still strengthen his case as one of the league’s most dependable backups and a player worth paying.
There’s also a benchmark sitting right in front of him. Geno Smith was the Raiders’ starter before Cousins, so the easiest way for Cousins to make an impression is to outplay him with a better supporting cast. If he does that, the money conversation around him may not be over.
Smith got another shot after being the worst starting quarterback in the league, even if that came with the New York Jets. That’s the kind of reminder that keeps Cousins in play: in the NFL, one more opportunity can still change everything. And for Cousins, the chance to keep landing fully guaranteed deals is still very much alive.
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For a Raiders team that leans on Crosby as the tone-setter up front, the timing matters almost as much as the news itself. He has been working through strength and conditioning gains and sounds confident he can be ready for a full return to play once camp arrives, which is exactly the kind of update the organization and its fans wanted to hear after a season of uncertainty. The next step is simply getting to that clearing point and seeing how seamless the transition back to football actually is. [Read more 🡒]