The Raiders may open training camp with Kirk Cousins sitting atop the quarterback depth chart, but that doesn’t mean Fernando Mendoza is going to be parked on the side.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said this week there could be a path for Mendoza to push for the job, and Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer added that the rookie should get first-team work over the next six weeks. Breer said Monday that Mendoza’s work habits and coachability have already stood out, noting that his “presence has been constant at the facility” and that he has shown he can take what he’s taught and carry it onto the practice field quickly.
Breer also pointed to the relationship between Cousins and Mendoza as a plus for the rookie. That connection, he wrote, should help Mendoza as he gets through his first season in the league.
Even so, Breer doesn’t see a likely path where Mendoza simply takes the job outright. He said Kubiak is expected to be careful with how the Raiders develop the rookie, with the goal of making sure the progress sticks.
Still, Breer said the Raiders will “sprinkle Mendoza in” with the first team this summer, helped by Cousins’s deep familiarity with the scheme, as part of a broader development plan.
At this stage, the real answer can only come once the staff sees both quarterbacks on the field. Cousins is no longer in the prime of his career, and Mendoza still has plenty to learn. That leaves the Raiders with a decision that could become obvious fast if the rookie starts separating himself.
NBC Sports host Mike Florio raised that exact issue last week, arguing that a team can’t keep the better quarterback off the field just because of a long-term plan. “When you’re out on the practice field, if Mendoza is clearly better than Kirk Cousins, and you’ve got some grand strategic plan that you’re going to let him sit for a year?
What’s Maxx Crosby going to say about that? What’s Brock Bowers going to say about that?
What’s any veteran player going to say,” Florio said on PFT Live.
He added, “We have a guy who we can all tell at every practice is better than Kirk Cousins as of right now, but you’ve got this plan that you’re going to groom Fernando Mendoza by having him not play, by deliberately choosing the lesser guy to be the quarterback. Good luck with that one, Klint Kubiak.”
For now, Kubiak has not said he’s willing to play the lesser quarterback. But if Mendoza keeps trending upward and eventually looks like the better option, the outside expectation is that the Raiders would be ready to adjust.
In Other News...
Jon Gruden Just Sent Raiders Fans A Brutal AFC West Message
Jon Grudens latest read on the AFC West did not exactly land softly with Raiders fans. The former Las Vegas coach pointed to continuity at both coach and quarterback as the reason he sees the division tilting away from the Silver and Black, while still acknowledging the Raiders should be better than they were a year ago. It is the kind of preseason snapshot that says as much about where Gruden thinks the division stands as it does about how far Las Vegas still has to climb.
He also slotted the rest of the division in a way that will stir plenty of debate, with the Broncos at the top, the Chargers next and the Chiefs behind them. Even with the football talk drawing attention, Gruden remains a figure whose name still carries plenty of baggage in Las Vegas because of his legal fight with the NFL over the leaked emails that ended his tenure. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Fans Finally Get Their First Look At Kubiaks New Offense
The first real look at Klint Kubiaks Raiders offense is about to arrive, and it comes with a little more fanfare than usual. Las Vegas will hold 11 training camp practices ahead of the 2026 season, with five open to the public in August, giving supporters a chance to see how the new staff is beginning to shape the group before the games start to matter.
Most of those sessions will be at the Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, with the final open practice moving to Allegiant Stadium. For a fan base eager to see what this version of the offense looks like in live reps, the bigger question is less about attendance than about how quickly Kubiak and Mike McCoy can get the system installed and the roster comfortable enough to make camp feel like a true starting point. [Read more 🡒]
Forgotten Raiders Tight End Is Suddenly Pushing For A Real Role
Carter Runyon arrived in Las Vegas as a 2025 undrafted free agent and spent enough of his first preseason and regular season showing the kind of versatility coaches tend to notice, even if the rest of the league barely did. The Raiders liked what they saw from a tight end who could help in the passing game, hold up as a blocker and contribute on special teams, which is exactly the sort of profile that can keep a player hanging around when roster decisions get tight.
Under offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, that skill set suddenly looks more relevant. Runyon has already shown he can move around the formation and do a little of everything, and that gives him a path into multiple tight end looks if he keeps building on the same traits. For a player who was easy to overlook a year ago, the next step is no longer just surviving camp. It is forcing the Raiders to find a real role for him. [Read more 🡒]