The Raiders’ quarterback setup is shaping up as a temporary bridge rather than a long-term battle, and Kirk Cousins appears headed for only a short run before Fernando Mendoza takes over.
Cousins is expected to start Week 1, which matches the plan the Raiders have had in place from the beginning. Mendoza is viewed as the future, while Aidan O’Connell remains a respected veteran under yet another new regime. The real question has never been whether Mendoza will play, but when the switch comes.
There’s been some talk that O’Connell could open the year as the backup and be the first man up if Cousins gets hurt, leaving Mendoza as the third quarterback. That scenario does not seem likely, though. The more realistic path is that Mendoza gets his turn sooner rather than later.
Cousins did enough in the preseason to show why he’s the Week 1 starter. He was efficient, and he handled the job the way a veteran should. But he’s also 38, doesn’t offer much mobility anymore, and his arm strength is clearly not what it once was.
That doesn’t make his preseason success especially dramatic. For a quarterback with his experience, playing well in August is the baseline, not some major revelation. It would have said more if he had struggled than it does that he looked comfortable.
The Raiders left the door open for Mendoza to win the job in camp, but that push never really materialized. So the original plan remains intact: Cousins starts, and Mendoza waits for his opening.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter addressed the situation Monday on The Pat McAfee Show, and he sounded convinced the Raiders are still heading down that road.
"I still think it’s going to be Kirk (as the starter for Week 1, etc.). I’d be surprised if it was anybody else other than Kirk at this point in time,” Schefter said.
“I think that’s the way it’s been trending all along, and Mendoza had moments in the preseason. There’s no doubt his time is coming.
He’s going to be the starter. He’s going to be the face of the franchise.
The question is how soon. I was texting with someone yesterday.
They’re like, ‘sooner than you think.'"
The Raiders’ Week 13 bye also matters here, because it gives the team another natural checkpoint before the season closes. Some could argue it makes sense to let Mendoza gain five starts at the end of the year and keep building from there.
And that’s really the tension in this situation: Cousins is the stopgap, Mendoza is the future, and the Raiders will eventually have to decide when the future becomes now. With or without Schefter’s take, that moment may arrive earlier than many expect.
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